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| THE 7 FACES
OF DR. LAO
(100 mins) $24.98 |
| 1963 WB |
| Region 1 |
| Video: 16x9 Widescreen (1.85.1) |
| Audio: Dolby Digital
Mono 2.0 |
| Subtitles: English, French |
| Chapter Stops: 24 |
| Packaging: Snap Case |
| Theatrical Trailers |
| Documentary |
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Produced and
Directed by George Pal |
| Music
by Leigh Harline |
| Cinematography
by Robert Bronner |
| Art
Direction by George Davis and Gabriel Scognamillo |
| Set
Decoration by Henry Grace and Hugh Hunt |
| Make
Up and Special Effects by William Tuttle, Sydney Guilaroff,
and Jim Danforth |
| Starring
Tony Randall, Arthur O’Connell, Barbara Eden, John Ericson,
Noah Beery Jr, Kevin Tate, Frank Cady, Frank Kreig, Minerva
Urecal, Royal Dano, Eddie Little Sky |
Academy Award-winning fantasy filmmaker George
Pal serves as ringmaster for the strangest show on earth, THE 7 FACES
OF DR. LAO. Adapted from Charles G. Finney’s novel, "The Circus
of Dr. Lao," this 1964 family classic still amazes and amuses
audiences of all ages. TWILIGHT ZONE scripter supreme Charles Beaumont
adapts Finney’s novel and provides a multi-layered script that can
be interpreted in many ways according to your perspective. The end
result was an original fantasy film that was overlooked by science
fictions fans of the time, who were looking for another WAR OF THE
WORLDS or THE TIME MACHINE (two of Pal’s best efforts). THE 7 FACES
OF DR. LAO won William Tuttle an Academy Award for best make-up for
the numerous setups worn by star Tony Randall. Even though this is an
MGM film, Warner Brothers ended up with the DVD rights, and release
this underappreciated genre classic on a semi-special edition DVD.
Tony Randall delivers a tour-de-force
performance not only the enigmatic Dr. Lao (a role originally intended
for Peter Sellers), but also as Dr. Lao’s circus attractions, the
Abominable Snowman, the Loch Ness Monster, Medusa, Appollonius the
Seer, the god Pan, and the elder Merlin the Magician! Beautiful
Barbara (VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA) Eden stars as widow Angela
Benedict. Kevin (BULLET FOR A BADMAN) Tate plays her young son,
Michael. John (ALIEN ZONE) Ericson is idealistic reporter, Ed
Cunningham. Arthur (FANTASTIC VOYAGE) O’Connell stars as the
antagonistic cattle baron, Clint Stark. Supporting players of note
include Noah Beery, Jr., Royal Dano, John Doucette, and George C.
George.
In the Old West of the early 19th century, the
mysterious Dr. Lao travels to Abalone, a small frontier town at the
turn of the century, in the guise of a sage showman. He arrives at the
town newspaper office to place an ad to publicize the arrival of his
traveling circus. There he meets idealistic reporter Ed Cunningham
(John Ericson) who is embroiled in a war of words with corrupt cattle
baron, Mr. Stark (Arthur O’Connell). When Ed is not working on the
newspaper, he is trying to make time with the gorgeous Angela
Benedict, who is the town’s upstanding librarian. She also is a
widow who raises her son, Michael (Kevin Tate), with the aide of her
mother-in-law (Argentina Brunetti). Despite the prodding of friends
and family who want her to get together with Ed (including her own
son), she cannot bring herself to go out with him.
The sly Mr. Stark knows that the government is
going to build a railroad through the town of Abalone, so he has the
Mayor (Frank Cady) convene the residents at a town meeting, where he
concocts some story about the town’s watermain being faulty. He
tells the townspeople of the enormous cost to repair the watermain,
but offers to generously buy out their homes so they can move
elsewhere. The residents agree to Mr. Stark’s offer, except for Ed
and Angela who try to convince their greedy neighbors to make a stand.
Meanwhile, Dr. Lao befriends young
Michael, and invites the town to attend his circus of the bizarre. The
residents show up and are greeted by the pantheon of history’s most
exotic legends including Madusa, The Abominable Snowman, Merlin the
Magician, the half animal/half human Pan, and Greek fortune-teller of
legend, Appollonius of Tyana. Dr. Lao masterminds a series of circus
performances that reflect the conflict and inner turmoil of the
Abalone townsfolk. Mr. Stark and his thugs are suspicious of Dr.
Lao’s motivations, and seek to make life difficult for him and the
townspeople.
Screenwriter Charles Beaumont gives the script
some thoughtful mysteries, and leaves certain elements up to the
viewer to figure out. Interestingly, Beaumont takes a page from Ray
Bradbury’s SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES in that he uses the
circus as a plot device to portray human weakness and ignorance. But
Bradbury’s story focuses on the dark side of human nature, while THE
7 FACES OF DR. LAO explores the positive side of the human potential.
Beaumont imbues the script with a spiritual dimension that would
appeal even to Pagans. The plot undergoes continual progression; what
starts as an old Western film transforms to a circus movie, then in
the last act switches gears to a monster-on-the-loose film
(highlighted by Jim Danforth’s wonderful stop motion animation).
Through it all, George Pal captures the sensibilities of a magical
Aesop fable. Pal also applied a whimsical, surreal tone to THE 7 FACES
OF DR. LAO, complete with psychedelic color schemes. The make-up and
special effects are primitive by today’s standards, but cutting-edge
at the time. As a result, the effects have depth and character, in
contrast to today’s cartoony digital effects.
The character of Dr. Lao is
multidimensional--when you think you have him figured out, the script
changes gears. Through it all, Dr. Lao is actually a teacher of life.
The circus he brought to town exposed the negative side of the
town’s residents, who didn’t recognize themselves amidst Dr.
Lao’s gallery of freaks and monsters. George Pal also incorporates
satire into the mix. He gives the characters their own individual
extremist views: an idealistic reporter, an exploitative businessman
whose bottom line is the dollar bill, a woman obsessed with being
faithful to her deceased husband, an older lady who represents vanity,
etc. Beaumont uses Dr. Lao’s circus to examine each person’s
character by holding up a mirror image of themselves, and forcing them
to confront their inner truths.
Tony Randall is great as Dr. Lao,
bringing to the role wit, charm, and nobility. He uses his tireless
energy to bring the other carnival characters to life. My favorite
Randall personae is the blind seer, Appollonius of Tyana. Randall was
worn out after this movie because of the seven characters and constant
make-up applications he had to endure. Randall keeps Dr Lao’s accent
changing throughout the film (sometimes he sounds like an Asian, other
times his lines have an Old West patter), and the effect is
bewildering. Arthur O’Connell is great as the exploitative Mr.Stark,
who creates evil in order to find the truth in human nature. The scene
where Arthur O’Connell meets his scaly alter ego is a credit to his
acting skill.
SIGHT
WB Home Video presents another fine
widescreen (1.85.1) transfer. This DVD is a huge improvement over
MGM’s widescreen LaserDisc, because of the 16x9 enhancement. The
source print exhibits some wear (especially around the opening credit
sequence) and minimal film grain. There were some moments of
shimmering and occasional softness, but it was never a problem. Robert
Bronner’s desert cinematography is chock full of detail, as is the
set design. The black level is solid. The DVD perfectly recreates the
sandy colors of the Old West with dominating browns, olives, golds,
and yellows. The interior sets of Dr. Lao’s circus tent features
some psychedelic tones with subdued pinks, purples, and greens.
Overall, I was very impressed with WB’s effort, due of the age of
source elements.
SOUND
This Dolby Digital Mono 2.0 mix has
tremendous clarity and depth not usually associated with mono sound.
Since THE 7 FACES OF DR. LAO is a dialog driven film; the various
foreign accents (mostly coming from Tony Randall) and Old West
dialects are clearly rendered in the mix. The sound effects include
some roars from the sea monster and eerie voice of the Madusa.
Composer Leigh Harline comes up with truly unique compositions as he
mixes traditional Western motifs with traditional Chinese
instrumentation. He also composes the flute melodies that Pan plays
(in possibly the only scene in the film that irritated me).
FEATURES
There is a cast list with a talent bio
for Tony Randall. Also an acknowledgment for Willaim Tuttle’s Oscar
winning make-up effects. The lengthy theatrical trailer (which is in
excellent shape by the way), is widescreen, with Dolby Digital 1.0
sound, and runs 3:11. There is also an archival behind-the-scenes
featurette of William Tuttle doing his thing in MGM’s make-up labs.
This segment focuses not on THE 7FACES OF DR. LAO, but on Tuttle’s
make-up techniques. It is narrated by Wayne Thomas, who volunteers to
undergo the make-up chair, and Tuttle gives him the old skin-head
treatment. This documentary is full frame with mono sound and runs
8:09. Nice glasses, by the way Mr. Thomas.
CONCLUSION
No one can claim that THE 7 FACES OF
DR. LAO is George Pal’s best film, but it is a totally original
effort, and is something that Hollywood has never produced since. Tony
Randall delivers a multi-performance that has not yet been topped, not
even by Eddie Murphy of Mike Myers, who always play multiple roles in
their films. Warner Brothers Home Video is not afraid to release older
catalog titles on a superior digital format. Now if only we could
convince them to release more…
THE
7 FACES OF DR. LAO is available from DVDEmpire.com
Rating (out of 5):
| Film: |
4.0 |
| Sight: |
4.0 |
| Sound: |
3.0 |
| Extras: |
2.0 |
| Overall: |
4.0
|
- Darren
Collette
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