7 Faces of Dr. Lao

7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964) is George Pal's fantasy western, and you can watch it online on iFILM. An old Chinese man rides a small donkey into the dusty town of Abalone, Arizona, and announces that his travelling circus opens that night. He calls himself Dr. Lao, and by his own count he is something past seven thousand years old.

This is no ordinary big top. Beneath the canvas the townsfolk meet Medusa, a sea serpent, the god Pan, the seer Apollonius — and each one finds the tent a mirror, reflecting back their own greed, vanity or hollowness. While the town argues over whether to sell its land to the schemer Clint Stark, who has caught wind of a coming railroad, Lao's quiet performances reshape people from the inside. Tony Randall plays nearly all "seven faces" himself, sliding from wizened conjurer to monsters and gods.

Adapted from Charles Finney's novel "The Circus of Dr. Lao," the film earned makeup artist William Tuttle an honorary Oscar — the Academy's first award for makeup. Reach for it if you love an old-fashioned fable with a moral and don't mind the frank, stagey charm of mid-sixties effects. Stream 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964) online on iFILM.