The Empty Beach  The Empty Beach is a 1985 Australian thriller film starring Bryan Brown as private investigator Cliff Hardy inquires into the disappearance of a beautiful woman's wealthy husband from Bondi Beach. Based on the 1983 novel by Peter Corris of the same name. In the early 1980s Bryan Brown was attached to star as Cliff Hardy in an adaptation of an earlier Corris novel, "White Meat". This was to be adapted by Corris, directed by Stephen Wallace and produced by Richard Mason. However no film eventuated. Then John Edwards and Tim Read acquired the rights to the series and approached Brown again. Corris wrote the first few drafts and was unhappy with the final adaptation, although he liked Bryan Brown's performance. The film performed poorly at the box office in Australia although it sold widely around the world. There were plans for Brown to appear in further Hardy adventures but this did not eventuate.