The Circus of Dr. Lao

7 Faces of Dr. Lao is a Metrocolor 1964 film adaptation of the 1935 fantasy novel The Circus of Dr. Lao by Charles G. Finney. It details the visit of a magical circus to a small town in the southwest United States, and the effects that visit has on the people of the town. The novel was adapted by... Charles Beaumont, directed by George Pal and starred Tony Randall in the title roles. It is the dawn of the 20th century, and an elderly Chinese man rides a jackass into Abalone, Arizona, his only visible possession a fishbowl occupied by an innocuous-looking fish. This magical visitor, Dr. Lao , visits Edward Cunningham's newspaper and places a large ad for his traveling circus, which will play in Abalone for two nights only. Though quiet, Abalone is not peaceful; wealthy rancher Clinton Stark has inside information that a railroad is coming to town, and he is scheming to buy up the place while the land is cheap. Stark is opposed in this power grab by Cunningham, who is also romantically pursuing the town's librarian, Angela Benedict , a beautiful young widow still grieving the death of her husband.
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Fantasy literature is fantasy in written form. Historically speaking, literature has composed the majority of fantasy works. Since the 1960s however,... a growing segment of the fantasy genre has taken the form of films, television programs, graphic novels, video games, music, painting, and other media. Stories involving , paranormal magic and terrible monsters have existed in spoken forms before the advent of printed literature. Homer's Odyssey satisfies the definition of the fantasy genre with its magic, gods, heroes, adventures and monsters. Fantasy literature, as a distinct type, emerged in Victorian times, with the works of writers such as William Morris and George MacDonald. J. R. R. Tolkien played a large role in the popularization and accessibility of the fantasy genre with his highly successful publications The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings . Rarely does one consider modern fantasy without conjuring the memory and image of Tolkien and his creations. Tolkien was largely influenced by an ancient body of Anglo-Saxon myths, particularly Beowulf, as well as modern works such as The Worm Ouroboros by E. R. Eddison.
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