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THE 7 FACES OF DR. LAO Screening at Schlafly Bottleworks September 6th

By Tom Stockman | August 31, 2017

“This is the circus of Dr. Lao. We show you things that you don’t know. Oh we spare no pains and we spare no dough, oh we want to give you one hell of a show. And youth may come and age may go, but no more circuses like this show.”

THE 7 FACES OF DR. LAO (1964) screens Wednesday, September 6th at 8pm at Schlafly Bottleworks Restaurant and Bar (7260 Southwest Ave.- at Manchester – Maplewood, MO 63143) as part of Webster University’s Award-Winning Strange Brew Film Series. Admission is $5

When I was two, I saw a movie at the theater with my parents. I had no idea what it was and for years I could remember nothing about it save a scene where a small lizard grows into a big dragon all in one shot. A decade or two later, I caught up with THE 7 FACES OF DR. LAO on TV, and there it was. Mystery solved. THE 7 FACES OF DR. LAO is an absolute gem and quite a showcase for the amazing talents of its star, Mr. Tony Randall. If you have never seen it, you are in for an extraordinary treat when it screens next Wednesday at Schlafly Bottleworks.

A mysterious Chinese gentlemen appears in the midst of Abalone, Arizona, after the turn of the century. The town is facing a crisis which threatens its future. Many of the town’s inhabitants are also facing individual challenges. Dr. Lao invites them to his travelling circus and promises a show which “not even the experience of a lifetime spent in Abalone could conceive of.” And he delivers! Characters from mythology, dreams, and nightmares populate his tent. Each sideshow offers something that touches and changes the lives of attendees…and quite possibly, the town as a whole.

With its impressive, Oscar-nominated special effects, thought-provoking screenplay incorporating both comedy and tragedy, and a turn by a super-cute Barbara Eden (just before her I Dream of Jeannie run), THE 7 FACES OF DR. LAO has much to appeal to both adults and children alike. It’s also a great reminder of how talented an actor Tony Randall was, as his characters take on numerous personas including sad, funny, touching and scary. A magical movie that easily holds up with repeat viewings, it’s a rare and unique one-off and I highly recommend seeing it at Schlafly Bottleworks.