Claudio Carvalho In the turn of the Twentieth Century, the Chinese Dr. Lao (Tony Randall) arrives in Abalone, Arizona, riding a donkey carrying a fishbowl with a small fish and goes to the local newspaper Diary Star. He asks the owner Ed Cunningham (John Ericson) to publish one-page advertisement for two days for his traveling circus. Ed has unrequited love for the widow librarian Angela Benedict (Barbara Eden) and opposes to the powerful rancher Clint Stark (Arthur O'Connell) that wants to buy the lands of the inhabitants of Abalone. He uses the argument that the water supply pipe is decayed and needs to be replaced and it will be very expensive. However Stark has inside information that the railroad will pass by Abalone and will increase the value of the lands. There is a meeting in the town to decide whether the locals will sell their real estates to Stark or not but the decision is postponed after the arrival of Dr. Lao. During the night, the dwellers go to the circus to see The Abominable Snowman, Merlin the Magician, Apollonius of Tyana, Pan, The Giant Serpent and Medusa. Each attraction gives a lesson to each resident, changing their future and behavior for the better. "7 Faces of Dr. Lao" is a delightful and magic cult-movie, with a beautiful and entertaining story and great direction of George Pal. Tony Randall "steals" the movie performing seven different roles. Barbara "Jeannie" Eden is gorgeous and her encounter with Pan the God of Joy is wonderfully erotic. Apollonius of Tyana telling the truth about the future of his clients is hilarious. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "As 7 Faces do Dr. Lao" ("The 7 Faces of Dr. Lao")

Dan Collins '7 Faces of Dr. Lao' is one of those movies after you watch it and wonder "You know, why are more people not talking about this?" 'Dr. Lao.' is the story of an old Wild West town where nothing exciting ever seems to happen until one day an old mysterious Chinese man, the titular Dr. Lao, arrives wanting to show the citizens his circus with many wonderful creatures and people such as Merlin, Pan, Medusa etc. However it's not all fun and games as these attractions show some of the less likable townsfolk their true colours and makes them think twice about what their lives are like.Tony Randall plays Dr. Lao and his many 'faces' and is nothing short of fantastic, giving a wide range of performances from the quiet and harshly honest fortune teller to the wise and eccentric doctor himself. I also should mention that the rest of the cast isn't half-bad, especially the child who befriends Dr. Lao who really captures that sense of wonder and curiosity.The fantastic lines in this movie are enough to make anyone crack a smile and even get a little emotional, especially Lao's speech about the magic of life we experience every day.The sets, effects and music are all great too. The great puppet work with the snake, the fantastic stop motion monster near the end, the atmosphere of the circus really makes you feel like you've entered another world, the music ranging from bright and cheery to somber and subtle much like the film itself.If there's anything bad I could say about the movie, it's that it is pretty racist that Dr. Lao, a Chinese character, is played by a white guy. It doesn't help that he does put on a hilariously offensive accent but you got to think back to when the movie was made back when it was probably more acceptable and even the accent I just mentioned is actually just an act put on by the character as he is shown to speak perfect English. Also, most of the townsfolk are some of the biggest skeptics you will see in any movie. Medusa petrifies a woman at one point and Merlin manages to change her back as well as making her a nicer person than she was yet the townsfolk STILL don't think it's real. It's frustrating to watch sometimes to say the least.But the good outweighs the bad in almost any regard and this movie is a must-see for anyone, reminding us that no matter what we might experience, being alive is fantastic. Do me a favour and see it soon.

JoeKarlosi A charming little film directed by George Pal, and made brilliant solely by Tony Randall's tour de force in taking on several different roles. He starts out as the oriental Dr. Lao, who is magical and can transform himself into various forms within his own traveling circus. When a small western town starts to come apart at the seams due to an unscrupulous businessman, the wondrous Lao helps the community to see through the manipulation and helps everyone come to their senses by entertaining them at his mystical circus. Randall wears many different makeups courtesy of the award-winning William Tuttle: Dr. Lao, Merlin the old magician, the Abominable Snowman, Medusa, Pan, and Apollonius of Tyana. He also has a brief cameo in his own face as a member of the audience. *** out of ****

DKosty123 George Pal was a special effects master. This film shows his genius in special effects & more. George took on a lot of challenging special effects films during the 1950's & 60's. When Worlds Collide is a good example of some of that work.The story of this film, Dr. Lao, has adult & children's levels all blended together into a very solid piece of entertainment. "All the world is a circus," is the children's level & the adult levels are multiple. This film shows adult corruption, a woman (Barbara Eden, no less) nearly being seduced by a half-man half-goat out of Greek Mythology. It pieces together a lot of Greek Mythology with the destruction of Pompei, & a tale about the Loch Ness Monster. The film was treated very unfairly by critics when it was released as enemies of Tony Randall ganged up & shot the film down. This is unfortunate, because this film is much better than the critics who might not have liked Randall due to personal reasons, not because of the quality of the film.Arthur O'Connell who would go on to some good television work, does well in this film as the bad guy, Stark, whose trying to steal all the land in town because the railroad is coming. In that way, the plot is reused later in Blazing Saddles by Mel Brooks, but this film is more cerebral than the latter film. Frank Cady is in this film in support & he had worked on Pal's When Worlds Collide too & went on from this in television as the owner of Druckers store & postmaster of of Hooterville on TV's Petticoat Junction, Green Acres & appeared on the Beverly Hillbillies.Dr Lao's Circus is kind of like a mirror that exposes all of us to really solid entertaining film. The mystery surrounding Dr. Lao & the little town he comes to visit & straighten out is much deeper than most films. This film is well worth a look, even now as it's fable quality makes it a timeless story with something for everybody.