James Mason stars as Bradley Monahan, a famous painter (patterned after Norman Lindsay, who was later the subject of SIRENS.)

Monahan is suffering a creative lapse so he leaves the city for a cottage on Australia's Great Barrier Reef hoping to get some inspiration. While there, he meets a fiesty girl named Cora (Helen Mirren) who is living with her abusing aunt (Neva Carr-Glyn.) She amuses herself by swimming nude in the ocean, collecting shells which she sells in hopes of raising enough money to escape her situation. Monahan spots the nubile young girl one day while he is out drawing on his boat, and he convinces her to pose for him. At first reluctant, Cora soon grows to enjoy having her body captured on canvas, and she becomes the artist's muse as he regains his artisitic confidence.

The story line is simple and contrived, with very clumsy comic relief provided by Monahan's lecherouss "pal" Nat Kelly (Jack MacGowran) that could have been left on the cutting room floor, frankly. However, the nudity is natural and sensual and the scenes of Cora gliding effortlessly underwater collecting her shells is worth whatever effort you have to make to see the film.

The scenery is gorgeous, as is Mirren, who at age 22 is in her second film of what will be a long and award-winning career (Calendar Girls, 2010, Excalibur, the HBO series "Prime Suspect".) She was knighted as Dame Helen Mirren in 2003.

109 minutes, the VCR release is Rated R, Color