Review #430: 7 Faces of Dr. Lao.
Cast
Tony Randall (Dr. Lao, Merlin, Pan, the Serpent, Medusa, Apollonius of Tyana, and the Abominable Snowman), Arthur O'Connell (Clint Stark), Barbara Eden (Angela Benedict), John Ericson (Ed Cunningham), Kevin Tate (Mike Benedict), Noah Beery, Jr. (Sam), Royal Dano (Casey, the Brutal Henchman), John Doucette (Lucas, the Henchman's Sidekick), Lee Patrick (Mrs. Howard T. Cassan, the Stuffy Matron), Minerva Urecal (Kate Lindquist, the Shrewish Wife), John Qualen (Luther Lindquist, the Meek Husband), and Frank Cady (Mayor James Sargent) Directed by George Pal (#247 - The Time Machine)
Review
This is a weird sort of film, it feels like a fantasy film, but it sometimes feels like it tries to be a comedic film, and it also manages to try to show a cavalcade of stop motion effects, creating a jello mold of a film in which the main actor tries to flesh out 7 different characters. But does this film work as a whole? Eh...it depends. The directing for the most part is alright, George Pal (also notable for producing The War of the Worlds in 1953) does alright, and focus doesn't get too off focus. And while Randall does okay in his performances, it is a tour de force in the makeup department by William Tuttle as he even won an honorary Oscar for the makeup. The effects are alright, and the Serpent does look good. The rest of the actors are okay, not too bad, even if they are overshadowed by the effects and Randall, though probably unintentionally. The film is dated at some points and despite some questionable aspects, this is at least okay, and while it is a weird experiment in the amount of characters one actor or actress can play, I suppose it can't be too harmful. Take this film at your own risk.
Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.
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