Peter Lawford is Richard Connor, Richard Boone is John W. Gamble, both gamblers, thieves and con artists.
They meet in Sydney, Australia and become partners in the robbery of an underground gambling joint; Gamble kills the owner in the process.
Then, to escape the city, they befriend down-on-his-luck rancher Michael McGuire, who spends much of his time drunk and searching for the son named Dennis he abandoned years earlier.
The men slip $500 of their stolen loot in McGuire’s wallet, then convince him he agreed to sell them cattle while he was drunk.
Connor also adopts the first name Dennis, in hopes of an even bigger score if he convinces McGuire he’s his long-lost son.
Back on McGuire’s ranch, all is far from well. In fact, he was in Sydney futilely trying to borrow money to salvage his herd.
It hasn’t rained for three years, and the drought is killing off cattle and businesses. McGuire and daughter Dell (Maureen O’Hara) fear their ranch will be next.
But the hope that he’s finally found his son spurs McGuire into action, as he tries to round up as much of his herd as possible. Gamble and Connor go along on the cattle drive.
Dell’s growing affection for Connor — the man he suspects is her brother — concerns the elder McGuire.
Connor and Gamble are concerned by a local lawman named Leonard, who’s in love with Dell.
Peter Lawford as Richard Connor, meeting a partner he’s not sure he can trust in Kangaroo (1952)
Richard Boone as John W. Gamble, convincing Connor to scheme together in Kangaroo (1952)
Review:
Not as different a Western as the poster would lead you to believe. Oh, there’s the occasional sighting of Australian wildlife. And aborigines show up to ask for water, then do a rain dance in return.
What makes the film more unique is Connor and Gamble trying to repair a windmill in the middle of a sandstorm. And a climatic showdown between the men in which their only weapons are whips.
Boone turns in a fine performance as the scoundrel without a conscience. Unfortunately for him, in Lawford’s Conner, he’s once again taken on a partner who has one.
Maureen O’Hara as Dell McGuire, distraught over Richard Connor’s change in fortunes in Kangaroo (1952)
Finlay Currie as Michael McGuire, worried about what he said while drunk in Kangaroo (1952)
Directed by:
Lewis Milestone
Cast:
Maureen O’Hara … Dell McGuire
Peter Lawford … Richard Connor
Finlay Currie … Michael McGuire
Richard Boone … John W. Gamble
Chips Rafferty … Trooper Leonard
Letty Craydon … Kathleen
Charles Tingwell … Matt
Runtime: 84 min.
Chips Rafferty as Trooper Leonard, boasting to Connor about a colleague’s tracking skills in Kangaroo (1952)
Charles Tingwell as Matt, a cattle thief given a second chance by the McGuire’s in Kangaroo (1952)
Memorable lines:
Richard Connor, during the robbery of a gambling joint: “What’d you have to kill him for?”
John W. Gamble: “Because you didn’t.”
John W. Gamble to Richard Connor: “It’s said a man’s eyes are the mirror to his soul. With you, the blacker the deed, the more angelic you look.”
Richard Connor: “Tell me, is it true you can track a man by the smell of the tobacco he uses?”
Trooper Leonard: “That’s easy. My man can track a man by the impression his shadow leaves on a rock.”
Dell McGuire, when Richard Connor expresses a desire to return to London or Paris: “Then why did you come here?”
Connor: “To make a pile so I can get back.”
Dell: “Others have thought that. And like them, you’ll be trapped by your own greed. You’ll never think you have enough. Oh, you’ll make a pile. And then you’ll stay another year to make some more. And then a drought, or a brush fire or a flood will come and ruin you, and you’ll start all over again. The story of the Australian damned. Broken men whose hearts are in England or the continent and whose feet are stuck here.”
John W. Gamble to Richard Connor: “Every time I go in business with a partner, sooner or later he develops a conscience. Go ahead. Go ahead, I’m sick of watching your wrestle with your pious little soul.”
Finlay Currie as Michael McGuire introduces daughter Dell (Maureen O’Hara to Richard Connor (Peter Lawford) and John W. Gamble (Richard Boone) in Kangaroo (1952)
Richard Boone as John W. Gamble and Peter Lawford as Richard Connor, partners in a scheme to lay claim to Michael McGuire’s ranch in Kangaroo (1952)
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