Harlequin

(1980)

Australian Classics heads back to the 80s for yet another classic Aussie thriller written by Everett de Roche.

A senator's son is dying from cancer when he is visited by a man dressed as a clown and they develop a rapport. Later, this man enters the house and mysteriously cures the kid of cancer. We find out he is Gregory Wolfe, a self proclaimed faith healer and magician who is let into the senator's and his family's lives. But, the senator is skeptical of Wolfe as he has charmed his way into the family. So, he gets his flacks to find out about the real Gregory Wolfe. In the meantime, Wolfe passes his tricks onto the now healthy boy and then strange things begin to happen. The maid who accuses him of rape is mysteriously disfigured by acid. Wolfe is thrown in jail, but he escapes and comes back to cause a little havoc.

Harlequin is an Australian thriller that has been made to look like an international film with broad accents from Australian actors and an international cast (David Hemmings, Robert Powell, Broderick Crawford). Much better than its reputation and much better than I thought it would be, it's a interesting thriller which has a supernatural side that mixes well with the thriller element. There are also some amazing moments, like Wolfe holding the boy over the edge of the cliff, or Wolfe and the boy destroying a car with a high-pitched noise, or Wolfe getting rid of an abscess on the senator's aide's wife by chopping off her finger. And Alyson Best does what she does, on film, well, best. The film's not perfect, but definitely deserves a look.
 

Alyson Best film clips

The collages are below:

"The Secret Life of Us"

(Aussie TV series, 2001-06)

Abi Tucker clip (collages below)