To me, this movie is perfection.

The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

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")

Many critics thought little of this movie as a whole and would instead cite Randall's tour-de-force as the single positive. I know someone who feels the film pales in comparison with the book but I don't think he was really familiar with the movie. I have yet to finish the book as I am possibly the slowest reader in existence. I am on the other hand very familiar with the movie. I've scene it 30 times at the very least. As a 8 year old I saw it at least three times at the theater, I was a buff from a very early age. I've seen it a couple times a year for last four years and I saw it two weeks ago. It stands the test of time. For me, it's a close tie with 1937's The Prince and the Pauper as the greatest "kids" movie ever. Both are perfectly thrilling entertainment with remarkably deep messages for audiences of all ages. Nobody can argue with the Academy's nominees for that year but it seems cruel that there wasn't room for Tony. It's a beautiful, heart-felt performance that never tarnishes. I've read enough of the book to know that the movie has been "Hollywoodized" but the basic lesson is not lost. It's one of the greatest movie ever made on the order 1924's The Thief of Bagdad or 1938's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer or 1941's The Devil and Daniel Webster or 1956's Forbidden Planet.

In many ways the 7 Faces Of Dr. Lao was years ahead of its time. I think the only reason Stephen Spielberg hasn't tried to remake it is because he doesn't think he could improve on the original which George Pal so artfully put together. Not too mention this is an actor's dream where as per the title star Tony Randall gets a once in a lifetime chance to essay seven different characters.A small Arizona town in the Depression Thirties gets a chance to see an Oriental circus as per an advertisement placed in John Ericson's newspaper by a mousy Chinese gentleman Dr. Lao as played by Tony Randall. The town has its problems as its leading citizen Arthur O'Connell is trying to buy it out from each and every property owning citizen in the tough times of the Depression.Dr. Lao has not giving them a circus as much as a carnival sideshow with many interesting exhibits from cultures all over the world. It is here that Randall does his thing appearing as many people in the various exhibits. As the townspeople visit the exhibits, it's an interactive show where they come face to face with some unpleasant truths about themselves and that includes O'Connell.7 Faces Of Dr. Lao won a special Oscar for makeup years before that became an Oscar category. I find it hard to believe it wasn't a category before. The film also got a nomination for special effects, but lost to Mary Poppins.Like Alec Guinness in Kind Hearts And Coronets, Tony Randall was given such great acclaim for the various parts he did per the exhibits in his circus. I find it hard to believe that he wasn't given a nomination for Best Actor. It was not just William Tuttle's makeup that created these characters.If it were to be remade today I think it would be a natural for Robin Williams. But I doubt that Tony Randall could be topped.

I'm always a bit surprised by how little talk I hear about this absolute gem of a fantasy movie. Perhaps it's because Tony Randall's star doesn't shine as brightly as it once did, or perhaps overzealous guardians of morality are offended by his ethnic portrayal, despite the fact that he is playing with stereotypes as opposed to playing to them. For instance I love how Lao either drops or emphasizes his accent depending on the circumstance; indeed a lot of the point of the story is to upend our expectations of the diminutive Chinese man, and to make us conscious of the fact that possibilities are never so limited as we at first imagine them to be, and to that end the film deceives us initially into thinking that we are looking at a "typical" Chinese man in the Old West. At any rate, whatever the reason for this film dropping off the radar it deserves more acclaim. Charles Beaumont, writer of many of the best episodes of "Twilight Zone", poured his tortured heart and soul into this movie, and I think it is a masterpiece for Beaumont, director George Pal, and star Randall.The essential idea of Dr. Lao's Circus is that you only get at the Circus (or, in life) what you bring into it yourself. What you see will have whatever value to you that you want or need it to… perhaps more than you would ask for since we all hide our feelings from ourselves at times, afraid to acknowledge our weakness. Dr. Lao's Circus functions as a mirror, and in a general sense it lives up to the qualities of what Professor Tolkien calls "High Fantasy" or the world of Faerie – the Circus has its own rules and logic that seem magical or alien to "regular" people like those in the town of Abalone but which 7,000 year old Dr. Lao himself is perfectly comfortable with. In turn, our "normal" world appears to Dr. Lao as a world of magic and endless beauty, as he describes the joy of a single handful of dust to the young boy (Kevin Tate). He is blessed with the desire and ability to share that perspective with the rest of us. Dr. Lao is kind of a savior for the town, but only in the sense that he forces them – in the end inspiring them with fear of self-destruction – to see clearly the huge difference between their actions and their true desires. People come to the Circus and they may find something horrible and depressing or something sexy and exciting or something humorous and awe-inspiring depending on what they bring with them – for all the faces of Dr. Lao are nothing but different aspects of the same reality. Dr. Lao doesn't actually have to do anything to save the town from the villain Clint Stark (Arthur O'Connell), but some people take more of a kick in the pants than others to get them to face their fears and realize just how much hope and possibility there is in the everyday world.What really makes this a great film is the way that the story is designed and executed to perform exactly the same function for us. Viewers will be surprised and delighted by the moments of horror, sexual excitement, and existential angst that the Dr. Lao unveils in his Circus. And in the people of Abalone we will find ourselves. Isn't there a little boy out there in the dark theater who doesn't just want to believe in magic… but that he can do magic too? Isn't there a young woman who wants to see some romance but is afraid if it gets too sexy or personal? And isn't there a cynical man who, like our complex villain, expects to be let down by the "magical experiences" but desperately "wants to lose" and find wonder and peace of mind in Dr. Lao's Circus? Whatever it takes, Dr. Lao's Circus will provide. By the end, we not only want to believe but we DO believe that Dr. Lao can catch a fish in a dry creek bed – and why not? This great film will make a lot of people feel the same way about their own deceptively mundane lives – it is the purpose of this film as with all great fantasy to take us away from the "normal" only to help us realize just how special our "real" lives are.Great credit for the film's success goes to Mr. Randall, who delivers a chameleon performance worthy of comparison to the great cinematic shape shifters like Lon Chaney and Alec Guinness. As good as he is, we might overlook the really extraordinary work of Arthur O'Connell, in the very well-written role of the robber-baron. We really feel how he's actually embarrassed to be such an intelligent man living such a crude life, and his conversation with the serpent is one of the most striking sequences in all of fantasy film. There's no melodrama involved in his "conversion" from bad to good, which makes it very convincing – he's not concerned with the little boy or her mother or anything like what you would see in most Western melodrama (even the recent re-make of "3:10 to Yuma" relied on a family melodrama to illuminate the bandit's character). This is really all about his character and his feelings of self-worth, his ruined idealism being resurrected by exposure to the Circus. He succeeds where his friends – physically perfectly cast Western veterans John Doucette and Royal Dano – fail because they run from their fears instead of facing them. This is also one of Barbara Edens' best roles, and John Ericson is remarkable in the kind of suave noble leading role that you barely see any more on the cynical silver screen.A great family fantasy that never ceases to entertain while it lifts our spirits.