Seven Faces of Dr. Lao
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Movie Reviews of Seven Faces of Dr. Lao
Movie Review: The 7 Faces of Dr. Lao
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie is an exception to the rule that the book is always better. It seems that the book was only an inspiration for this movie, which is a much more powerful "pheerosophicaree" than the "The Circus of Dr. Lao." For those of us born in the late fifties, the sounds and images of the "7 Faces" pulls us instantaneously into a time machine. We are suddenly six and seven years old again -- a very vulnerable condition for the spiritual ride we are about to take. In the end, Dr. Lao's simple chastisement to Mike... "Every time you pick up a handful of dust, and see not the dust, but a mystery, a marvel, there in your hand" ...is as corny as it gets and as true as anything you'll ever know. Dr. Lao is about everything that is happening today. It is about dark cynicism that threatens our society -- embodied in Clint Stark's assessment of life:
Clint Stark: I was like you once, long time ago. I believed in the dignity of man. Decency.
Humanity. But I was lucky. I found out the truth early, boy.
Ed Cunningham: And what is the truth, Stark?
Clint Stark: It's all very simple. There's no such thing as the dignity of man. Man is a base,
pathetic and vulgar animal.
This is the eternal debate of human kind, captured in a cartoon-esque dialog between archetypal rubes... a perfect way to speak to us all, from both "red states" and "blue." The dialog identifies the extremes, making the boundaries of our human despair clear and unimpeded to reason. This clarity allows us - all of us grown-up seven-year-olds - to fall - plop - into the fairer middle territory where we are more human. Even though the angry and judgmental faces we've acquired through day-to-day interactions with our inner morons will not be satisfied today, we must suspend our hatred of all that lives in favor of seeing how we really are.
And then there is the truth - Apollonius of Tyana - an actual historical figure who some say was the template for writings of another sage (known as Jesus of Nazareth). He is represented to us as the stern countenance preparing our minds at yet another level within what might have better been described as "The Meditation of Dr. Lao." We are given a view of that which we know too well, the regularity, the normalcy, the boring and daily tedium of our experience, captured and summarily wrestled to the ground, then submitted for our inspection in the pathetic emotional writhing of the actress Lee Patrick who as Mrs. Cassin faces the blistering realities of her life in Apollonius' caldron of the soul:
Apollonius of Tyana: Tomorrow will be like today, and the day after tomorrow will be like the day
before yesterday. I see your remaining days as a tedious collection of hours full of
useless vanities. You will think no new thoughts. You will forget what little you have
known. Older you will become, but not wiser. Stiffer, but not more dignified. Childless
you are, and childless you will remain. Of that suppleness you once commanded in your
youth, of that strange simplicity which once attracted men to you, neither endures, nor
shall you recapture them.
Mrs. Cassin: You're a mean, ugly man!
Apollonius of Tyana: Mirrors are often ugly and mean. When you die, you will be buried and
forgotten, and that is all. And for all the good or evil, creation or destruction,
your living might have accomplished, you might just as well never have lived at all.
You and I live in fear that we shall meet our own Apollonius. And the meaning is simple - we live our lives in the darkness created of our own idiotic aspirations, comparing ourselves to what we perceive to be our failures. The truth is simply that we live and we have upon our living to reflect and understand - but few appear to weather the intensity of that simplicity without a great deal of existential angst - which is the soul of Apollonius and Mrs. Cassin' interaction.
The extremity of the philosophical "debates" in "The 7 Faces" leaves us open and empty again, watching the adults for cues as to what comes next. It gives us the realization of our own frailty, and diminishes the expectations of ourselves that somehow we should have mastered all this stuff by now. We can allow the "living clowns" of Hollywood act out the drama in which we are ourselves living at this very moment. And so finally we must conclude: The world is as it was, and probably will be for all time - and therein is the miraculous world of Dr. Lao. And, as the carnival barker once said, "Like the philosopher Mencius said, "You ain't seen nothin' yet!'"
Movie Review: Become Part of the Circus of Dr. Lao
Summary: 5 Stars
My favorite thing about this movie is - NOTHING is exactly as it seems.
For instance, although entitled "The Seven Faces of Dr. Lao", Tony Randall plays =eight= roles - and himself as well. Another example - nobody in town, not even Mike, the little confused boy, calls Dr. Lao by Lao's own pronunciation of his name. Most people say "La-Oh" when Lao himself uses "Low". Again, although Dr. Lao rides in on a small donkey, alone, the circus tent is gigantic and has many other characters in it.
My favorite scene no one else has mentioned so far is when the crooked businessman goes into the tent of The Serpent. The Serpent, possibly even the Serpent which tempted Adam and Eve, tells the businessman he knows the secret - a railroad will soon come thru this tiny western town, making it a destination point rather than the departure point it is now. But is this just a condemnation of the businessman (saying, in essence, he is a "snake" for not telling the residents about the railroad), or is it a subtler jab at all crooked businessmen? Or both? Or more? Only Dr. Lao knows - and he isn't telling. Watch the Serpent begin to look more and more like the crooked businessman as the scene progresses.
Based on the "fact" that every other creature in Lao's circus is virtually world-famous, it wouldn't surprise me if Dr. Lao is really Lao-Tze, one of China's greatest philosophers. This role of Tony Randall's will soon have you totally forgetting his role in "The Odd Couple". As far as I'm concerned, this is Randall's greatest moment. Ever. Watch his face carefully during the scene where he portrays Apollonius of Tyana and see what I mean.
How many faces of Dr. Lao?
1) Dr. Lao
2) Apollonius of Tyana
3) The Medusa
4) The Abominable Snowman
5) Pan
6) The Serpent
7) Merlin
8) The Loch Ness Monster
9) Himself (Tony Randall)
Based on the Charles Finney classic "The Circus of Dr Lao", George Pal, the director of this film, brings his knowledge of science fiction and fantasy ("The Time Machine" and "The War of the Worlds" among many others) to this marvelous blend of Western, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mysticism, and even Religion to one of its greatest achievements. Watch for the end of the circus when all of the characters parade into the center ring to say goodbye. In the crowd, Tony Randall sits, as himself, shaking his head about the absurdity of it all, when everyone else is applauding and laughing. Watch also for the townspeople's reactions to the circus performers they have met.
At the end of the movie, Mike wants to go travelling with Dr. Lao. This is one of the rare times Dr. Lao does not speak in a very stereotypical fake Chinese accent. He says: "Mike, the whole world is a circus if you look at it the right way. Every time you pick up a handful of dust, and see not the dust, but a mystery, a marvel, there in your hand - every time you stop and think, 'I'm alive, and being alive is fantastic!' - every time such a thing happens, Mike, you are part of the Circus of Dr. Lao."
You can be part of the Circus of Dr. Lao too, when you decide to have this movie work its magic on you. One of my very highest recommendations.
Movie Review: I'd give Seven Stars for Dr. Lao if I could
Summary: 5 Stars
One of the most charming and wonderful fantasy films of all time. This is the story of Abelone, a dying town in the desert at the turn of the 20th century. In arrives Dr. Lao, played with great effect by Tony Randall in what is probably his best performance ever. With him, he brings his unusual circus and its performers. Including an Abomidable Snowman (who is barely used in the film and has no scene to himself), Merlin the Magician (very good), Pan the God of Joy, The Great Serpent, Apollonius the blind fortune teller who sees the future with absolute clarity, and the Medusa.
Basically, the townspeople must decide whether to sell their town to the misguided Clint Stark (played wonderfully by Arther O' Connell) or to stay and risk going thirsty with the town's only water source coming through a crumbling and very expensive to fix pipe.
With a little help from Dr. Lao and his circus, the townspeople eventually make the right decision.
There are just too many great scenes for me to describe, nor would I want to give away too much. I would encourage you to see this movie as it's one of the best fantasy films ever made.
Unfortunatly, Tony Randall passed away recently and he never liked giving interviews about this film. Which is a real shame since the DVD extras are pretty barren. My understanding is that Mr. Randall did not like how the script left out so much of the original book and that too much attention was paid to "romance" between Barbara Eden (who is just gorgeous) and John Ericson (in a great supporting turn).
I found it rather interesting that Dr. Lao pronounces his name "Dr. Low", yet everyone else, including a very attentive boy, calls him "Dr. La-ow". As an aside, the episode of MST3K when Joel Robinson leaves the Satelite of Love for good ("Mitchell"), he recites the "Circus of Dr. Lao" poem. But he calls him "Dr. Loo". I guess no one is ever suppose to get the pronounciation right.
Look for an eight character played by Tony Randall. He appears briefly without makeup just after Dr. Lao introduces his pet fish after the "parade of performers" scene. While the crowd around him claps with delight, Tony just slowly shakes head in disbelief. A wonderful little scene.
Movie Review: We gonna give you one hell of a show
Summary: 5 Stars
My favorite scene of this warm, wonderful fantasy/allegory is when Mike tells Dr. Lao that he's, '...not so young'. This has been my favorite kid's movie since I saw it as a nine year old when it was released. I was heart-broken when it lost to Mary Poppins in the Academy Awards.
Tony Randall uses his far-reaching learnedness of show business and dialects, from Time Square Pitchmen to Chinatown restaurateurs to Texas County Fair Emcees. Tony grew up in Tulsa a few blocks away from my father and cut his show biz teeth in New York and needed to synthesis every bit of this background to produce the various faces and most of all the mysterious character, Dr. Lao.
Many professional critics dismiss the movie itself and site Randall's tour-de-force performance as the only worth of the film. I disagree. The story of Lao and his reflective circus is another one of those stories that, like Forbidden Planet, goes right over adults heads and rings true in the hearts of children. Plus, there are so many effective scenes. I think we've all felt a bit of Barbara's heat when being serenaded by Pan or Mrs. Cassan's psyche reading or Merlin's redemption or any one a dozen others. I suppose some might find it cloying but I don't.
$5.79 is the price at the time this review was written and that's a great price! If you know any children or people the have retained some heart and open-mindedness then this would be a great and inexpensive addition to their DVD library.
I digress for a moment. I'm thinking that it's possible that John Ericson could have been a better replacement for Jeffery Hunter than Bill. Hey, it's just a thought.
Oh, and the question of whether it seven or eight faces. Well, he never did actually play either of the serpents, though, one could always read between the lines.
Movie Review: A well told morality tale
Summary: 5 Stars
7 Faces of Dr. Lao can be looked at in two different ways. The movie, released in 1964, can be seen as a morality lesson. It is the story of the small Arizona town of Abalone full of citizens who suffer from greed, vanity, loneliness, and pettiness. When Dr. Lao brings his mystical circus to town, the townsfolk get a good look at themselves and don't always like what they see. For today's audience the movie is a bit slow and ponderous. The film is highly predictable and you know by the end of the film that everyone gets exactly what they deserve and once the errors in their ways are pointed out to them then they will miraculously change for the better and everyone will live happily ever after.The second, and more enjoyable, is to focus on the performance of Tony Randall. Randall is amazing as the Chinese impresario Dr. Lao. Tony Randall portrays all seven inhabitants of Dr. Lao's circus: Dr. Lao, Merlin the Magician, Medusa, The Abominable Snowman, Pan, the serpent, and Apollonius of Tyana, he also makes a brief appearance as Tony Randall. As you are watching the film you forget that it is the same man playing all those parts, and it is widely considered one of Randall's most impressive performances. William Tuttle, who won an honorary Academy Award for his astounding make-up work, flawlessly transforms Randall from one character to the next. The film also comes from Director George Pal, who is also known for directing such classics as Time Machine and War of the Worlds, brings his distinctive blending of reality and fantasy to this film. Randall's performance, along with the incredible make-up work of William Tuttle and fine direction by George Pal make this a must see film...