July 21st: 7 FACES OF DR. LAO (George Pal, 1964)

A mysterious stranger and his traveling circus arrive in a small town, exposing the corruption and hypocrisy of its citizens.

Producer-director George Pal was born in Hungary, and worked in animation in Germany and England before World War II brought him to the United States. The success of his innovative "Puppetoons" short films and advertisements eventually led him to make feature films beginning in the early 1950s.

Pal became synonymous with science fiction and fantasy films featuring state-of-the-art effects work, most notably his adaptations of H.G. Wells classics The Time Machine and War of the Worlds. He acquired the rights to a cynical, satirical novel from 1935, The Circus of Dr. Lao, and the script was written by Charles Beaumont (responsible for many notable Twilight Zone episodes) with assistance from Hollywood veteran Ben Hecht (His Girl Friday, Notorious).

While Pal's first choice for the multi-faceted lead role was acclaimed comedian Peter Sellers, the studio insisted on an American actor, and they wound up with Tony Randall, already a 3-time Golden Globe nominee for his comedic performances (including Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? and Pillow Talk). The cast also includes character actor Arthur O'Connell and future I Dream of Jeanie star Barbara Eden.

The most notable aspect of the production is William Tuttle's extensive makeup on Randall to create his various personas. To simplify the process, the actor had his head shaved before work began. The film was shot entirely at MGM studios in Culver City.

Special effects work on the Loch Ness Monster and Medusa's snakes sequences were created by Jim Danforth, but much of the footage that features in the story's climax was taken from previous Pal films as well as other MGM productions.

Pal was so pleased with his experience he already had planned a sequel prior to the film's release, though this was scrapped when Dr. Lao was not successful at the box office. Tuttle won an honorary Oscar for his makeup effects, and the film has since become a fantasy cult classic.

Running time is approx. 100 minutes.