Quigley Down Under: Another Tom Selleck Classic

This 1990 movie has Tom Selleck not as the badass Magnum, P.I. that most of us know him for, but as Matthew Quigley, an American sharpshooter from Wyoming in the Outback. Directed by Simon Wincer and written by John Hill. It starred Tom Selleck, Alan Richman, and Laura San Giancom.

The movie is set in the Outback, not the Australian themed restaurant that middle class folks all over America go to for the fried phoneme that is the Bloomin’ Onion, but the harsh remote desert landscape known as the bush. The Aboriginals or indigenous people to Australia inhabit this area. Much like the Native Americans and the Cowboys of the Wild West, they clashed with the European and other white settlers moving in on their lands. Aboriginals were mistreated and abused much like the Native Americans as well. They were hunted and slaughtered with no real way to defend themselves. This movie addresses some of those issues and events.

The movie begins with Quigley arriving in Australia. He has been hired by an Australian Rancher, Elliot Marsten played by Alan Richman. Marsten tries to run his ranch in the outback like one in the American West. He has a hired band of gun-hands, most of which are probably some sort of outlaw, and thinks himself as a gunslinger. The sharpshooter, Quigley, has been hired to join Marsten’s gang as a long range hunter. However once Quigley learns the reason he is hired, him and Marsten have a disagreement which results in Quigley throwing Marsten throw a door. After Quigley is beaten up by Marsten’s gang, he and Crazy Cora, played by Laura San Giancom, are taken out to the middle of the bush and left for dead. They are discovered and nursed back to health by a group of Aboriginals. Once they have regained their strength, the Aboriginals leave them but are attacked by a group of Marsten’s Men. Now with the decision to flee or help the indigenous people, Quigley decides that someone has to deal with Marsten. Will Quigley be able to taken down Marsten and his gang of gun-hands? And can he survive the elements of the Australian Outback at the same time?

Quigley Down Under is a story about fighting for those who can’t fight for themselves. Matt Quigley takes up arms against what some would call a tyrant of the bush. This action and adventure film, does a decent job of showing the issues that took place in the Australian Outback. I give this movie a three out of five stars. It has a good story and theme. Their are some great shots of the Australian geography and beauty that is the outback. At right under two hours, this is a good watch for anyone looking for a good flick to fill an afternoon.

“This ain’t Dodge City, and you’re not Billy Hickok” – Quigley

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