I don't know why it struck me so odd, but did you notice that everyone in the picture pronounced the title character 'Dr. Low', including Dr. Lao himself? That is, all except for the young Mike Benedict (Kevin Tate), who pronounced it the way it appears to look - 'Dr. Lau'. I don't know if there's any significance to that within the context of the story, but it struck me nevertheless.
The film utilizes one of those familiar old Western movie themes in which an evil town boss conspires to buy out all of his neighbors with the prospect of making a killing when the railroad comes through the area. After that, it's pretty much all fantasy as an elderly Chinaman arrives with his magical circus to turn the tables on the villain. The story line utilizes a number of metaphors to contrast the circus with life in general, like 'The whole world is a circus if you know how to look at it', or as the Giant Serpent explains to his look-alike villain Stark (Arthur O'Connell) - the circus is like a mirror, you see yourself in it.
The host of Turner Classics who introduced the story, Ben Mankiewicz, stated that director George Pal wanted Peter Sellers for the Dr. Lao role, but was extremely pleased with the way Tony Randall handled the chore. It was cool to see Randall as one of the circus customers watching the show under the Big Top, a clever touch in keeping with the theme of the story.
Considering the era, some of Dr. Lao's characters have sort of a hokey look like that Abominable Snowman, but over all there's a whimsical quality to the performers that gives the movie a magical touch, the kind Dr. Lao himself attempts to convey to the citizens of Abalone. After all, if you can haul a trout out of a dry stream bed, you can just about do anything.
The film utilizes one of those familiar old Western movie themes in which an evil town boss conspires to buy out all of his neighbors with the prospect of making a killing when the railroad comes through the area. After that, it's pretty much all fantasy as an elderly Chinaman arrives with his magical circus to turn the tables on the villain. The story line utilizes a number of metaphors to contrast the circus with life in general, like 'The whole world is a circus if you know how to look at it', or as the Giant Serpent explains to his look-alike villain Stark (Arthur O'Connell) - the circus is like a mirror, you see yourself in it.
The host of Turner Classics who introduced the story, Ben Mankiewicz, stated that director George Pal wanted Peter Sellers for the Dr. Lao role, but was extremely pleased with the way Tony Randall handled the chore. It was cool to see Randall as one of the circus customers watching the show under the Big Top, a clever touch in keeping with the theme of the story.
Considering the era, some of Dr. Lao's characters have sort of a hokey look like that Abominable Snowman, but over all there's a whimsical quality to the performers that gives the movie a magical touch, the kind Dr. Lao himself attempts to convey to the citizens of Abalone. After all, if you can haul a trout out of a dry stream bed, you can just about do anything.