As he is leaving prison, Harry distracts his cellmate with dirty magazines while he is stealing his research for a get rich scheme: duping a small Australian town to finance the discovery of a sunken treasure ship that may or may not exist. On his way out of jail he pickpockets a supercillious businessman and heads for the town, Beachport. He stays at an inn run by Julie (Karen Allen), and her young son David.
Harry starts to drop clues and signs to convince the town that he knows what he's talking about. He plays on their greed and paints a dream of making Beachport a tourist attraction if the ship is found, and the town falls into his trap. Soon everyone wants to invest and are throwing money at Harry. They are spiffying up the town with souvenir shops and bus tours and the scheme of a theme park.
Julie though, having come off a bad marriage, sees that her son spends too much time with Harry and warns him off, comparing him to her philandering father as well as her ex-husband who abandoned them. But a fun day with Harry at the beach changes her mind, enough to convince her to invest a large sum as well, which troubles Harry because he finds he likes Julie and her son.
The townsfolk are played as yokels and hicks--stereotypes--but this is a light comedy with a touch of romance so that was okay. Bryan Brown is good as the lead, he often plays slightly hard men with an easy charm that comes across to the audience and to the women in the film he romances, but Karen Allen was a bit less charming, and I don't know why they picked an American actress to star in an Australian film. Too bad Rachel Ward, Bryuan Brown's wife, didn't play the romantic interest. Bill Kerr, who plays the cellmate, is also very good.
This looked like it was filmed on location so there are many outdoor scenes by the ocean and quaint town scenes.
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