Quigley Down Under

Quigley Down Under is a somewhat comedic western film theatrically released in 1990. It was originally intended to star Steve McQueen in 1980, but after an illness by the star the project was cancelled and would not be filmed until a decade later. The film runs 119 minutes, and was rated PG-13 in the United States.

Related Topics:
Western - 1990 - Steve McQueen

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Tom Selleck plays the titular Matthew Quigley, a cowboy from America with a keen eye and a specially modified rifle with which he can shoot at extraordinary distances. Quigley's weapon of choice is a 1874 Sharps Buffalo Rifle which fires .45-110 paper patch black powder cartridges. Its barrel is 34 inches long, which makes it four inches longer than an unmodified rifle.

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Alan Rickman plays his nemesis, Elliot Marshall. Marshall is a gentleman infatuated with stories of quick-draw gunslingers from the American Old West. He hires Quigley to come to Australia in the hopes that Quigley will use his sharpshooting skills to help eradicate the native aborigines. Quigley, of course, finds the idea abhorrent and the two men are quickly headed for a showdown.

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Laura San Giacomo provides comic relief and a love interest as "Crazy Cora." She suffered a terrifying personal tragedy some years before the film's story begins, and is deluded into believing that Quigley is really her estranged husband. By the film's end, the viewer is left with some doubt as to how crazy she really is.

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