Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls! Children of all ages! May I have your attention, please?
Step right up! This week on “Picture Perfect,” it’s music from movies about the circus!
In 1964, George Pal produced and directed an adaptation of Charles G. Finney’s dark fantasy novel, “The Circus of Dr. Lao.” “7 Faces of Dr. Lao” was envisaged as a real showcase for its star, Tony Randall, who plays not only the mysterious proprietor of an itinerant Old West circus, but also Merlin the Magician, the great god Pan, a Serpent, the fabled monster Medusa, the blind fortune-teller Appolonius of Tyana, and the Abominable Snowman!
The unusual score is by Leigh Harline, who freshens up tropes of the American Western by applying some Eastern spice. We’ll hear selections from the film’s original elements, remastered for the Film Score Monthly label.
We’ll also have music from two Academy Award winners: Cecil B. DeMille’s “The Greatest Show on Earth,” voted Best Picture of 1952, with a score by Victor Young, and Federico Fellini’s “La Strada,” Best Foreign Language Film of 1956, with music by Nino Rota.
Malcom Arnold wrote the music for “Trapeze,” Carol Reed’s 1956 love triangle on high (with Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, and Gina Lollobrigada), and Danny Elfman understands that every day’s a circus for Paul Reubens in “Big Top Pee-Wee,” from 1988. I know you are, but what am I?
Finally, with Halloween right around the corner, I couldn’t resist including a suite from Hammer Film Productions’ “Vampire Circus,” from 1972. The composer is David Whitaker, of “The Sword and the Sorcerer” cult status.
Music for the circus takes center ring, on “Picture Perfect,” music for the movies, now at its new time, this SATURDAY EVENING AT 6:00 EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

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