7 Faces of Dr. Lao

An old Chinese man's circus arrives in a small Arizona town. It has seven figures: the seer Merlin, Medusa, Pan, an abominable snowman, a giant serpent and Doctor Lao himself. The townspeople go into the tent one by one and each meets their own truth. George Pal directed and produced, from Charles G. Finney's novel. Tony Randall plays all seven. Separate prosthetics and makeup were built for each, and that was the hardest part of the production. William Tuttle, who designed the makeup, received a special award from the Academy for it, the first Oscar given for makeup, since no official category existed yet. The Medusa section in particular is harsh; a townswoman seeing herself in the mirror is still uncomfortable. The tone sits between fable and moral lesson; the story looks aimed at children but its subjects are not. Who it is for: viewers curious about sixties fantasy and the craft of makeup. Who it is not for: anyone troubled by how the Chinese character is presented by today's standards.