Bob-724

This episode approaches dark comedy in a way that Medium rarely does. There are two murders, but both are treated lightly--even humorously. The basic plot is that an attractive young woman has killed her ancient husband for his money. We learn that her lover, a computer hacker, is stealing people's identities and cleaning out their bank accounts in order to buy off a juror in her trial. Everywhere Allison looks she sees these people whose identity was stolen as the identity thief, Fred Rovick. Diedrich Bader does a wonderful job playing all of the characters, both male and female--even channeling Joe Dubois and Lee Scanlon. In the end, we even see him in a bikini. The psychological trauma of that experience aside, it is an unusual and entertaining episode.

Age of Consent, from the novel of the same name by Norman Lindsay, is essentially a middle-aged man's fantasy -- but a sweet and likable one.

James Mason plays Bradley Morahan, a successful New York painter who has become tired of turning out the same old commercial tripe. He longs for home (Queensland, Australia) and the chance to experience life first hand, again. He rents a shack on a small island off the Great Barrier Reef and moves in with his dog Godfrey, stocking it with food, drink and oil paints.

The island is a tropical paradise, inhabited by fruit bats and several other characters content to have left the world behind. The granddaughter of one of the residents is a young girl named Cora, played by Helen Mirren. She supports her alcoholic grandmother by selling crayfish and oysters to the store on the mainland and dreams of getting away and becoming a hairdresser. Morahan is charmed by her and agrees to help her see her dream come true by paying her to model for him. She proves to be just the inspiration he needed and he begins to paint -- and live -- with renewed energy.

The film is easy-paced, amusing, and despite a few upsets along the way, leads to a fantasy conclusion. If you want to spend a pleasant couple of hours getting away from it all, I recommend seeing this film.

Directed by Michael Powell, it is now available on the Films of Michael Powell DVD along with A Matter of Life and Death (Stairway to Heaven), starring David Niven.