Quigley Down Under (1990)

Tom Selleck is Matthew Quigley, who answers an ad seeking the world’s best long-range marksman and lands in Australia with his trusty Sharps rifle looking forward to a lucrative new job.

That job is at Marston Station, a large, remote ranch owned by wealthy Elliott Marston (Alan Rickman), a man fascinated with the Wild West.

After Quigley impresses with his markmanship, the two men sit down to do business. The pay Marston’s offering is quite a bit to kill dingoes, Quigley notes.

That’s when he learns that it’s not dingoes he’ll be hunting. Marton has hired him to kill the uncivilized black aborigines roaming the area. Seems they’ve learned to stay out of standard rifle range.

Incensed that he’s been lured to Australia to kill other human beings, Quigley knocks Marston right through his own front door.

But Marston has a ranch filled with ruffians. And when Quigley regains consciousness, he’s been dumped and left to die in the Australian wilderness.

By his side is Crazy Cora, a young woman who attached herself to him as soon as he disembarked, but who insists on calling him Roy.

With the help of those uncivilized aborigines — who prove more civilized than the whites at the Marston ranch — Quigley and Crazy Cora recover from their ordeal.

But Marston’s men are still roaming the hills, exterminating any aborigine they can find.

And that’s a practice that must stop, Quigley decides.

Tom Selleck as Matthew Quigley, arriving in Australia for a new job in Quigley Down Under (1990)

Laura San Giacomo as Crazy Cora, spotting Matthew Quigley for the first time in Quigley Down Under (1990)

Review:

Simon Wincer, the man who directed “Lonesome Dove,” brings us a splendid old-fashioned style Western.

We have a hero who stands up for what’s right. A villain who cares for no life but his own. A rousing theme song. Plenty of action. A touch of humor. And a love interest.

Don’t underestimate the latter, because the Crazy Cora character, executed wonderfully by Laura San Giacomo, helps make this film stand out.

One of the best scenes is when she’s sitting by a campfire with Quigley, fretting over her tattered dress, while sharing the story of how she became “Crazy” Cora.

One of the most touching is when Quigley, now knowing her past, stops for a long look back at her when he rides off for a final showdown with Marston.

This might very well be the best of Selleck’s many Westerns.

Alan Rickman as Elliott Marston, welcoming Quigley to his ranch in Quigley Down Under (1990)

Chris Haywood as Major Ashley-Pitt, finding his men surrounded by aborigines in Quigley Down Under (1990)

Directed by:
Simon Wincer

Cast:
Tom Selleck … Matthew Quigley
Laura San Giacomo … Crazy Cora
Alan Rickman … Elliott Marston
Chris Haywood … Major Ashley-Pitt
Ron Haddrick … Grimmelman
Tony Bonner … Dobkin
Jerome Ehlers … Coogan
Conor McDermottroe … Hobb
Roger Ward … Brophy
Ben Mendelsohn … O’Flynn
Steve Dodd … Kunkurra
Karen Davitt … Slattern
William Zappa … Reilly
Jonathan Sweet … Sgt. Thomas
Jon Ewing … Tout
Tim Hughes … Miller
David Slingsby … Mullion
Danny Adcock … Mitchell
Maeliosa Stafford … Cavanagh
Ollie Hall … Carver
Danny Baldwin … Smythe
Jim Willoughby … Scotty
Spike Cherrie … Hayden
Gerald Egan … Whitey
Guy Norris … Cliff
Mark Minchinton … Paddy
Brian Ellison … Oliver

Runtime: 120 min.

Tom Selleck as Matthew Quigley, putting his Sharps rifle to good use in Quigley Down Under (1990)

Laura San Giacomo as Crazy Cora, hiding behind Quigley as fists start flying in Quigley Down Under (1990)

Memorable lines:

Matthew Quigley to Crazy Cora: “Lady, you are about a half bubble off plumb and that’s for sure and for certain.”
Crazy Cora: “Just because the road is rocky doesn’t mean your spirit should get rocky too.”

British Major Ashley-Pitt: “In our experience, Americans are uncouth misfits who should be run out of their own barbaric country.”
Matthew Quigley: “Well, Lieutenant…”
Major Ashley-Pitt, correcting him: “Major.”
Matthew Quigley: “Major. We already run the misfits out of our country. We sent ’em back to England.”

Elliott Marston to his men, after Quigley is beaten: “Throw him in the wagon, roll him two days from here and dump him. Let Australia kill him.”

Matthew Quigley, beaten and dumped in the desert: “I wish people would quit hitting me on the head.”
Crazy Cora: “Don’t worry. On a new job, it’s quite common for things not to go well at first.”

Crazy Cora: “Roy, he just buried the baby, put me in the wagon, and we went 70 miles to Galveston without stopping. He never said a word. Put me on the first ship he found. It was headed to Australia.And he said, ‘Don’t want no woman that would kill my son to save herself.’ And he turned and walked away and he never looked back. I know, cause I watched to see if he would.”

Crazy Cora: “You know, if we’re lost, you can tell me.”
Quigley: “We’re lost.”
Cora: “I can take bad news. Just tell me straight.”
Quigley: “I don’t know where the hell we are.”
Cora: “No sense takin’ time to make it sound better than it is.”
Quigley: “I reckon we’re goin’ in circles.”
Cora: “Wire things up and I’ll see right through. So, just tell me honestly. Are we lost?”
Quigley: “Nope. I know exactly where we are.”
Cora: “That’s good, ’cause, frankly, I was gettin’ a little worried.”

Quigley to Cora: “You sure look pretty in the morning sun.”

Elliott Marston, preparing for a gunfight with Quigley: “Some men are born in the wrong century. I think I was born on the wrong continent.”
Matthew Quigley: “This ain’t Dodge City. And you ain’t Bill Hickok.”

Tony Bonner as Dobkin, ready to back Elliott Marston in a showdown with Quigley in Quigley Down Under (1990)

Ben Mendelsohn as O’Flynn, a Marston man eager to test himself against Quigley in Quigley Down Under (1990)

Laura San Giacomo as Crazy Cora, warming up to Matthew Quigley, the man se calls Roy in Quigley Down Under (1990)

Tom Selleck as Matthew Quigley, beaten but still ready for a showdown in Quigley Down Under (1990)

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