Starring Tony Randall and Barbara Eden, this remarkable film is a journey through the human psyche.
Randall is extraordinary as he portrays a variety of folks - including a blind fortune teller, an abominable snowman and a snake - all in a magic circus, with an interior larger than the outside, that appears suddenly in a small western town, Abalone, Arizona, around 1920 or so.
Through the circus, folks discover something true and important about their lives, though perhaps hard to face at the time. Vanity, cruelty and greed are unmasked and love released.
The film won several awards: an Oscar for special effects and the Hugo for best dramatic presentation - obviously nothing like today's work, but impressive for the time.
I suspect Randall was one of those actors with a comedic face - but in this film, what with makeup, he gives an extraordinary performance - with voice changes to boot. Makeup was done by William Tuttle who died just last year. One of the special features of the Netflix DVD is a piece by Tuttle on makeup - don't forget to see it.
Definitely a Netflix choice.
