History Film / QuigleyDownUnder

** The first we see of Quigley himself, he’s being a gentleman by letting an elderly couple disembark from the boat ahead of him, and being a {{badass}} by casually delivering a well-placed kick to the crotch of a rude settler who tried to cut in front of them.

** Marston's decision to abandon Quigley in the Outback to die of thirst, rather than just shooting him and burying the body. Somewhat justified: the British officers had heard an American sharpshooter was coming and met him on the way to the ranch. They might have asked questions if he'd simply disappeared, so Marston wanted to be able to say they'd wandered off and been killed by the desert.

** Despite this being a western, the action takes place in Australia, rather than the Wild West. So after [[spoiler: killing Marston and majority of his goons and antagonising local military garrison]], Quigley is accounted for all the murders he commited and there is a WantedPoster after him. He only gets away by [[spoiler: lying about his identity]].

** Quigley send back to Marston his invitation letter with punching holes in it and writing down a distance from which he took those shots. Since no one actually saw him taking the supposed shots, ''nobody'' takes Quigley's claim serious and he has to prove it in front of the entire station in an elaborate marksmanship stunt.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: When arriving to the station, Quigley is to witness Marston QuickDraw skills and his duel-prone behaviour. [[spoiler: In the finale, this comes back and Quigley isn't surprised one bit, especially when he's "standing right in the old [[DeadlyEuphemism pistol target]]"]].

* DestinationDefenestration: During dinner with Marston, Quigley asks for more details about his expected duties, since "Ten pounds per month to shoot wild dogs seems like a lot for not much," especially since Marston already has riflemen and loves guns enough himself that they could easily handle any dingos that come by. Marston then explains the local government's policy of "Pacification by Force" and Quigley's true intended targets: the Australian Aborigine. Quigley muses on this, then cut to Marston hurling out his dining room window.

* CutHisHeartOutWithASpoon: Marston vows to do this to Quigley when he discovers something Quigley did. Alan Rickman has used almost the identical line as Sheriff of Nottingham in a Robin Hood film.

* BadassMustache: Quigley. He ''is'' played by Tom Selleck.

* DramaticIrony: In the initial setup for [[spoiler: their duel, Marston decided to give Quigley his rifle]]. Then, in the last second, he changes his mind, reasoning he's giving a sharpshooter his WeaponOfChoice, so instead, [[spoiler: Quigley is given a revolver. Few seconds later, Quigley easily outdraws Marston and his goons]]. If he had been left with his rifle on the ground, he would have been gunned down before he could even bend down for it.

* NoAnimalsWereHarmed: True of this movie, despite some very realistic-looking scenes of horses falling and rolling, and even one of a horse and rider going over a cliff. They even had a veterinarian on the shoot whenever animals were in use.

* FisticuffsProvokingComment

* DramaticIrony: In the initial setup for [[spoiler: their duel, Marston decided to give Quigley his rifle]]. Then, in the last second, he changes his mind, reasoning he's giving a sharpshooter his WeaponOfChoice, so instead, [[spoiler: Quigley is given a revolver. Few seconds later, Quigley easily outdraws Marston and his goons]]. Should he was left with his rifle on the ground, he would be gunned down before he could even bend down for it.

* RealityEnsues: Despite this being a western, the action takes place in Australia, rather than the Wild West. So after [[spoiler: killing Marston and majority of his goons and antagonising local military garrison]], Quigley is accounted for all the murders he commited and there is a WantedPoster after him. He only gets away by [[spoiler: lying about his identity]].

* ShoutingShooter: After initially panicking during the dingo attack, Cora tells the baby, “Aw Hell, let’s both make some noise!” then starts shouting and singing as she blows away the dingoes. Would almost count as a MadnessMantra, as she clearly sees the predators as the Comanches that looted her home in Texas, but ends up being the catharsis that helps her finally recover.

* AceCustom: Quigley's rifle has had some aftermarket modifications. Amusingly enough Sharps sells a "Quigley" model that includes all those changes.

* AceCustom: Quigley's rifle has had some aftermarket modifications.

* InfantImmortality: The one survivor of a massacre of Aborigines is a toddler.

A 1990 [[TheWestern Western]] movie with a twist: it's set (and in a nice aversion of CaliforniaDoubling filmed) in Western ''Australia''.

* TheGunfighterWannabe: Marston fancies himself a good gunslinger. Likewise, one of his {{mooks}}, O'Flynn, vastly overestimates his own shooting skills.

* UpperClassTwit: Marston has some of this, but Ashley-Pitt practically ''oozes'' this trope in every scene he's in.

* NothingUpMySleeve: Quigley makes it clear he doesn't generally need any weapon but his rifle, but that doesn't mean he's not hiding a blade in his boot, or that [[spoiler:he can't effectively wield a revolver]].

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: The real job Quigley was offered that his sharpshooting skills were needed for? Complete and total extermination of the Aborigines living on land that a white station owner wants.

* EstablishingCharacterMoment: ** Even before Marston reveals he wants Quigley to kill the Aborigines, he makes our hero ''very'' uncomfortable by gunning down two desperate British deserters without batting an eye.

* RealityEnsues: Despite this being a western, the action takes place in Australia, rather than the Wild West. So after [[spoiler: killing Marston and majority of his goons and antagonising local military garrison]], Quigley is accounted for all the murderers he commited and there is a WantedPoster after him. He only gets away by [[spoiler: lying about his identity]].

* ImprobableAimingSkills: Largely averted. He almost never misses, but at anything past point blank range he has to line up his shots carefully, adjust his sights and he often uses a solid base to help prop up and steady his weapon. Just like he would need to do in reality. The only real offender is the very first shot he makes in the movie to demonstrate his skill to the BigBad: first Quigley attaches the sight (previously removed for transportation), and then makes an unsupported shot at a target far enough away that there is noticeable delay between gunshot and impact; he then goes on to fire twice more, hitting the target 3 for 3. In reality the gun would have to be re-sighted once the sight was re-mounted. The shot itself, while not technically impossible, is still being made at very long-range, with a low-velocity cartridge, amid an environment where mirage affects the ability to aim... all without even bracing the rifle. To make such a shot might not require being the best marksman on the planet, but it demands a spot on the short-list.

* OneHitPolykill: With Marston and his men scurrying from cover to cover during his one-man siege of the ranch, two mooks suddenly drop dead, followed by the sound of a single rifle shot. The others appropriately [[OhCrap freak out]].

%%* WantedPoster