Quigley Down Under

Last updated

Quigley Down Under
Quigley down under.jpg
Theatrical release poster by Steven Chorney
Directed by Simon Wincer
Written by John Hill
Produced by Stanley O'Toole
Alexandra Rose
Starring
Cinematography David Eggby
Edited byPeter Burgess
Music by Basil Poledouris
Production
company
Distributed by Roadshow Entertainment (Australia) [2]
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (United States and United Kingdom) [1]
Release dates
  • October 17, 1990 (1990-10-17)
(Hollywood premiere)
  • October 19, 1990 (1990-10-19)
(U.S.)
  • June 13, 1991 (1991-06-13)
(Australia)
Running time
119 minutes
CountriesAustralia
United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$18 million [3]
Box office$21.4 million

Quigley Down Under is a 1990 western genre film, directed by Simon Wincer and starring Tom Selleck, Alan Rickman and Laura San Giacomo, and set in Australia. Although it opened to generally poor reviews, it has since developed an enduring niche-following among certain audiences.

Contents

Plot

Matthew Quigley is an American cowboy with a specially modified rifle with which he can shoot accurately at extraordinary distances. Seeing a newspaper advertisement that asks for a man with his special talent, he answers using just four words: "M. Quigley 900 yards", written on a copy of the advertisement that is punctured by six closely spaced bullet holes.

When he arrives in Australia, he gets into a fight with employees of the man who hired him as they try to force "Crazy Cora" onto their wagon. After he identifies himself, he is taken to the station of Elliot Marston, who informs Quigley his sharpshooting skills will be used to eradicate the increasingly elusive Aboriginal Australians. Quigley turns down the offer and throws Marston out of his own house. When the Aboriginal manservant knocks Quigley over the head, Marston's men beat him and Cora unconscious and dump them in the Outback with no water and little chance of survival. However, they are rescued by Aboriginal Australians.

Cora now reveals that she comes from Texas. When her home was attacked by Comanches, she hid in the root cellar and accidentally suffocated her child while trying to prevent him from crying. Her husband had then put her alone on a ship to Australia. Now Cora consistently calls Quigley by her husband's name (Roy), much to his annoyance.

When Marston's men attack the Aboriginal Australians who helped them, Quigley kills three. Escaping on a horse, they encounter more of the men driving Aboriginal Australians over a cliff. Quigley drives them off with his deadly shooting and Cora rescues an orphaned baby she finds among the dead. Leaving Cora and the infant in the desert with food and water, Quigley rides alone to a nearby town. There he obtains new ammunition from a local German gunsmith, who hates Marston for his murdering ways. Quigley learns as well that he has become a legendary hero among the Aboriginal Australians.

Marston's men are also in town and recognize Quigley's saddle. When they attack, cornering him in a burning building, he escapes through a skylight and kills all but one of them. The injured survivor is sent back to say Quigley will be following. Quigley returns to Cora and the baby, which she has just saved from an attack by dingoes. She had tried to stop that child from crying too but finally let him make as much noise as he liked as she killed the animals using a revolver that Quigley had left for her. Back in town, Cora gives the baby to Aboriginal Australians trading there after Quigley tells her that she (Cora) has a right to happiness.

Next morning, Quigley rides away to confront Marston at his station. At first he shoots the defenders from his location in the hills but is eventually shot in the leg and captured by Marston's last two men. Marston, who has noticed that Quigley only ever carries a rifle, decides to give him a lesson in the "quick-draw" style of gun fighting. Marston and his men are beaten to the draw by Quigley; as Marston lies dying, Quigley refers to an earlier conversation, telling him, "I said I never had much use for one [a revolver]; never said I didn't know how to use it".

Marston's servant comes out of the house and gives Quigley his rifle back. The servant then walks away from the ranch, stripping off his western-style clothing as he goes. A British cavalry troop now arrives to arrest Quigley, until they notice the surrounding hills are lined with Aboriginal Australians and decide to withdraw. Later Quigley and Cora book a passage back to America in the name of Cora's husband, since Quigley is wanted. On the wharf, she reminds him that he once told her that she had to say two words before he could make love to her. Smiling broadly, she calls him "Matthew Quigley" and the two embrace.

Cast

Production

Development

John Hill first began writing Quigley Down Under in 1974. He was inspired by a Los Angeles Times article about the genocide of the aborigines in 19th-century Australia. Although Westerns were in decline in the 1970s, Hill said that the script "opened a lot of doors for me," and led to other assignments. [4]

The script was first optioned in 1979 by producer Mort Engelberg for Steve McQueen, with whom he teamed on The Hunter ; however McQueen died of cancer shortly after completing The Hunter. The script was bought by CBS Theatrical Films where it was attached to director Rick Rosenthal. It then went to Warner Bros with Tom Selleck to star and Lewis Gilbert to direct around 1987. Warner Bros had the script for three years but then dropped their option. The script then became the subject of bidding between Pathe Entertainment, Disney and Warner Bros. It sold to Pathé for $250,000 which Hill said "is pretty good, when you consider that for 15 years I'd been making money optioning and rewriting that screenplay." [4]

Pathé's then head of production, Alan Ladd Jr., agreed to commit a $20 million budget. Selleck agreed to star and the director was an Australian, Simon Wincer. [5] It was Wincer who, feeling a good story had been ruined by numerous rewrites from people who knew little about Australian history, brought in Ian Jones as writer. They went back to the original draft, re-set it from the 1880s to the 1860s and made it more historically accurate. [6]

Shooting

The film was shot entirely in Australia. Scenes were filmed at 51 locations across Australian Northern Territory, including a $1-million-dollar 19th-Century-replica "Marston Station" ranch. The port of Fremantle, Australia was portrayed by Warrnambool, Victoria, Australia. [7] [8] The firearm used by Quigley (Selleck) is a custom 13.5 pound (6 kg), single-shot, 1874 Sharps Rifle, with a 34-inch (860 mm) barrel. [9] A replica was manufactured for the film by the Shiloh Rifle Manufacturing Company of Big Timber, Montana. [10] In 2002 Selleck donated the rifle, along with six other firearms from his other films, to the "Real Guns of Reel Heroes" exhibit at the National Firearms Museum in Fairfax, Virginia. [11]

Although several scenes of the story depict violence and cruelty toward and involving animals, a film spokesperson explained that no animal was harmed, and special effects were used. For example, Quigley and Cora are reduced to consuming "grub worms" (actually blobs of dough) for survival. A pack of dingoes attacks Cora, and she finally saves herself by shooting the animals. Those animals were specially trained, and were actually "playing" for that scene, which was later enhanced by visual and sound effects. Several scenes involve falling horses; they were performed by specially-trained animals and were not hurt. When a horse falls off a cliff, the "horse" was a mechanical creation. The film's producer stated that a veterinarian was on the set whenever animals were being used in filming. [12]

Reception

The film was neither a box office hit, nor blessed with critical acclaim (except praise for Rickman's portrayal of villany). But, for decades, it remained a staple of TV re-runs, and developed an enduring niche-following among Western culture enthusiasts, Australians, and gun enthusiasts. [13] [14]

General reception

A mere "formula" Western, in the eyes of many reviewers, [15] [16] Quigley had the misfortune of opening almost simultaneously with Dances With Wolves , [14] which swept the Motion Picture Academy Awards that year. [17]

In comparison, critical responses to Quigley were mixed, at best, and it has only a 52% rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 21 reviews. [18] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film two-and-a-half out of four stars, writing that it was a well-made but formulaic neo-western. He particularly praised the performances of Rickman and San Giacomo, saying "[T]his may be the movie that proves her staying power." [15] The film was millions from recouping its costs in early 1991. [19]

The New York Times panned it almost completely, describing the film as a "formula western at its most pokey," and—though praising villain Rickman as "an effortless scene-stealer"—disparaged Selleck and San Giacamo's performances. [16] On the other hand, Variety summed it up as "an exquisitely crafted, rousing western" and praised the performances of all three leading characters. [20]

Niche interest

Despite its initial weak general reception, Quigley became a perennial cable TV re-run, and acquired an enduring following among Western culture enthusiasts, Australians, and gun enthusiasts. [21] [22] The protagonist's skill with his rifle has led snipers to refer to the act of killing two targets with a single bullet as "a Quigley", [23] [14] a feat so named too in the Halo series of video games. [24] Annually, Forsyth, Montana renames itself “Quigleyville” in June, drawing hundreds top long-range shooters from around the world for its "Matthew Quigley Buffalo Rifle Match". [14] [25]

Awards and nominations

AwardCategorySubjectResult
London Film Critics' Circle AwardBritish Actor of the Year Alan Rickman Won
Motion Picture Sound Editors AwardBest Sound Editing – Foreign FeatureTim ChauWon
Frank LipsonWon
Political Film Society Award Human Rights Nominated

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Rickman</span> English actor (1946–2016)

Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman was an English actor and director. Known for his distinctive deep, languid voice, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and became a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, performing in modern and classical theatre productions. He played the Vicomte de Valmont in the RSC stage production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses in 1985, and after the production transferred to the West End in 1986 and Broadway in 1987, he was nominated for a Tony Award.

<i>In Old Arizona</i> 1928 film

In Old Arizona is a 1928 American pre-Code Western film directed by Raoul Walsh and Irving Cummings, nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The film, which was based on the character of the Cisco Kid in the 1907 story "The Caballero's Way" by O. Henry, was a major innovation in Hollywood. It was the first major Western to use the new technology of sound and the first talkie to be filmed outdoors. It made extensive use of authentic locations, filming in Bryce Canyon National Park and Zion National Park in Utah, and the Mission San Juan Capistrano and the Mojave Desert in California. The film premiered in Los Angeles on December 25, 1928, and went into general release on January 20, 1929.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Selleck</span> American actor (born 1945)

Thomas William Selleck is an American actor. His breakout role was playing private investigator Thomas Magnum in the television series Magnum, P.I. (1980–1988), for which he received five Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, winning in 1985. Since 2010, Selleck has co-starred as NYC Police Commissioner Frank Reagan in the series Blue Bloods. From 2005–2015, he portrayed troubled small-town police chief Jesse Stone in nine television films based on the Robert B. Parker novels.

<i>Walkabout</i> (film) 1971 survival film by Nicolas Roeg

Walkabout is a 1971 adventure survival film directed by Nicolas Roeg and starring Jenny Agutter, Luc Roeg, and David Gulpilil. Edward Bond wrote the screenplay, which is loosely based on the 1959 novel by James Vance Marshall. It centres on two white schoolchildren who are left to fend for themselves in the Australian Outback and who come across a teenage Aboriginal boy who helps them to survive.

Christian Sharps was the inventor of the Sharps rifle, the first commercially successful breech-loading rifle and the Sharps Four Barrel Pistol, and Sharps Breech-Loading Pistol.

<i>An Innocent Man</i> (film) 1989 film by Peter Yates

An Innocent Man is a 1989 American crime drama thriller film directed by Peter Yates, and starring Tom Selleck. The film follows James Rainwood, an airline mechanic sent to prison when framed by crooked police officers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sharps rifle</span> Falling-block rifle

Sharps rifles are a series of large-bore, single-shot, falling-block, breech-loading rifles, beginning with a design by Christian Sharps in 1848 and ceasing production in 1881. They were renowned for long-range accuracy. By 1874, the rifle was available in a variety of calibers, and it was one of the few designs to be successfully adapted to metallic cartridge use. The Sharps rifles became icons of the American Old West with their appearances in many Western-genre films and books. Perhaps as a result, several rifle companies offer reproductions of the Sharps rifle.

<i>Australia</i> (2008 film) 2008 film by Baz Luhrmann

Australia is a 2008 epic adventure drama film directed by Baz Luhrmann and starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. The screenplay was written by Luhrmann and screenwriter Stuart Beattie, with Ronald Harwood and Richard Flanagan. The film is a character story, set between 1939 and 1942 against a dramatised backdrop of events across northern Australia at the time, such as the bombing of Darwin during World War II.

Roger Ward is an Australian actor and scriptwriter who has had a considerable career in film and television, noted for "tough guy" roles in which he often did his own stunts.

Shiloh Rifle Manufacturing Company is a firearms manufacturer located in Big Timber, Montana, United States.

<i>Robbery Under Arms</i> Australian novel by Rolf Boldrewood

Robbery Under Arms is a bushranger novel by Thomas Alexander Browne, published under his pen name Rolf Boldrewood. It was first published in serialised form by The Sydney Mail between July 1882 and August 1883, then in three volumes in London in 1888. It was abridged into a single volume in 1889 as part of Macmillan's one-volume Colonial Library series and has not been out of print since.

<i>Last Stand at Saber River</i> 1997 TV film

Last Stand at Saber River is a 1997 American Western television film directed by Dick Lowry and starring Tom Selleck, Suzy Amis, Haley Joel Osment, Keith Carradine, David Carradine, Tracey Needham, David Dukes and Harry Carey Jr. Based on the 1959 novel of the same title by Elmore Leonard, the film is about a Civil War Confederate veteran who tries to put the pieces of his life back together but finds himself fighting a new battle on the frontier. Seeking to reclaim his Arizona homestead from rebel pioneers who sympathize with the Union war effort, he joins forces with his Union adversary to make a last stand for the one thing worth fighting for, his family. In 1997, Osment won a YoungStar Award for Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Made For TV Movie. In 1998, the film received the Western Heritage Awards Bronze Wrangler for Television Feature Film.

<i>Monte Walsh</i> (1970 film) 1970 film by William A. Fraker

Monte Walsh is a 1970 American Western film directed by cinematographer William A. Fraker starring Lee Marvin, Jeanne Moreau and Jack Palance. The name "Monte Walsh" is taken from the title of a 1963 western novel by Jack Schaefer, but the film has little to do with the plot of Schaefer's book. The film was set in Harmony, Arizona. The story has elements of a tragedy. The song played over the opening credits is "The Good Times Are Comin' " by Mama Cass, with music and lyrics by John Barry and Hal David.

<i>Crossfire Trail</i> 2001 television film by Simon Wincer

Crossfire Trail is a 2001 American made-for-television western film directed by Simon Wincer and starring Tom Selleck, Virginia Madsen, and Wilford Brimley. Based on the 1954 Louis L'Amour Western novel of the same name, the film is about a wanderer named Rafe Covington who swears an oath to his dying best friend to look after his beloved wife and Wyoming ranch, only to encounter other forces who strongly desire the ranch and the woman for their own purposes.

John Hill was an American screenwriter and television producer. He was originally from Prairie Village, Kansas.

<i>Robbery Under Arms</i> (1957 film) 1957 British film by Jack Lee

Robbery Under Arms is a 1957 British crime film directed by Jack Lee and starring Peter Finch and Ronald Lewis. It is based on the 1888 Australian novel Robbery Under Arms by Thomas Alexander Browne who wrote under the pseudonym Rolf Boldrewood.

<i>Hellboy: The Crooked Man and Others</i> 2008 comic book trade paperback

Hellboy: The Crooked Man and Others is the tenth collected edition of Mike Mignola's comic book series Hellboy, collecting Hellboy: The Crooked Man #1–3, Hellboy: In the Chapel of Moloch, Hellboy: They That Go Down to the Sea in Ships and the story "The Mole" from "Free Comic Book Day 2008: Hellboy". The collected edition features an introduction by Gahan Wilson. As with Hellboy stories generally, it was published by Dark Horse Comics.

<i>Monte Walsh</i> (2003 film) 2003 TV film

Monte Walsh is a 2003 American Western television film directed by Simon Wincer and starring Tom Selleck, Isabella Rossellini, and Keith Carradine. It was adapted from Jack Schaefer's 1963 novel Monte Walsh. This film is a remake of the 1970 Monte Walsh film that starred Lee Marvin.

<i>Snapshot</i> (film) 1979 film by Simon Wincer

Snapshot is a 1979 Australian thriller film directed by Simon Wincer in his feature film directorial debut. It stars Sigrid Thornton, Chantal Contouri and Robert Bruning. The film was shot on an estimated budget of $300,000.

<i>Mystery Road</i> (film) 2013 film

Mystery Road is a 2013 Australian crime film with neo-Western elements and setting, written and directed by Ivan Sen. It was screened in the Special Presentation section at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. A film sequel entitled Goldstone was released in 2016, and TV series in 2018, all featuring Aaron Pedersen as the brooding Indigenous Australian detective Jay Swan.

References

  1. 1 2 "AFI|Catalog".
  2. ↑ "Quigley Down Under (35mm)". Australian Classification Board . Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  3. ↑ Greg Kerr, "Quigley", Australian Film 1978-1992, Oxford Uni Press, 1993 p323
  4. 1 2 Pat H. Broeske (19 October 1990). "A Long, Dusty Trail for Selleck and Aussie Western : Movies: John Hill's script for 'Quigley Down Under' endured a 15-year journey before hitting the big screen". Los Angeles Times . p. 12. Archived from the original on 12 March 2024.
  5. ↑ Persico Newhouse, Joyce J. "'Perfect Hero' Selleck Takes Aim at Action". Times Union . 18 October 1990.
  6. ↑ Scott Murray, "Simon Wincer: Trusting His Instincts", Cinema Papers, November 1989 pp. 6–12, 78
  7. ↑ "Quigley Down Under (1990)," AFI Catalog, American Film Institute, retrieved December 14, 2024
  8. ↑ "Quigley Down Under | Filmed Here | Film Locations Victoria, Australia". Film - Great South Coast. Film Victoria. Archived from the original on 20 February 2011.
  9. ↑ Sharp, Eric: "Shooting Star – Antique Black-Powder Rifle Still Scene-Stealer," June 18, 2006, Detroit Free Press.
  10. ↑ Names and Faces: "On Target". Orlando Sentinel . 6 August 1989.
  11. ↑ "Tom Selleck Donates Seven Guns To NRA National Firearms Museum". National Rifle Association of America. Archived from the original on 26 February 2007.
  12. ↑ AHA Film website Archived 22 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ↑ Rosebrook, Stuart: , March 1, 2021, True West Magazine, retrieved December 14, 2024
  14. 1 2 3 4 "Tom Selleck looks back at his sharpshooting Aussie western, Quigley Down Under,", October 2020, Cowboys and Indians, retrieved December 14, 2024
  15. 1 2 "Quigley Down Under". Chicago Sun-Times.
  16. 1 2 Maslin, Janet: "Review/Film; Tom Selleck In 'Quigley Down Under,'" Oct. 19, 1990, New York Times, retrieved December 14, 2024
  17. ↑ Urquhart, Jeremy: "10 Great Westerns That Ruled the Oscars," Febrary 11, 2024,
  18. ↑ Quigley Down Under at Rotten Tomatoes
  19. ↑ "Giancarlo, Phone Home," February 24, 1991, Variety retrieved December 14, 2024
  20. ↑ "Quigley Down Under," December 31, 1989, Variety retrieved December 14, 2024
  21. ↑ Rosebrook, Stuart: Out West and Down Under, March 1, 2021, True West Magazine, retrieved December 14, 2024
  22. ↑ "Tom Selleck looks back at his sharpshooting Aussie western, Quigley Down Under,", October 2020, Cowboys and Indians, retrieved December 14, 2024
  23. ↑ Harnden, Toby (13 March 2011). "Dead Men Risen: The snipers' story". The Daily Telegraph . London. Archived from the original on 14 March 2011.
  24. ↑ "Quigley". Halopedia. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  25. ↑ "Quigley Match," Forsyth Rifle and Pistol Club, Forsyth, Montana, retrieved December 14, 2024
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.