El Diablo

Before degenerating into an endless series of heavy handed political screeds, HBO Pictures delivered many great made-for-TV movies including a half dozen or so respectable westerns.

El Diablo is a fun comedy that simultaneously celebrates and debunks the mythology of the old west. The plot involves Anthony Edwards (in his Revenge Of The Nerds persona) as a meek, bumbling schoolteacher from the east who idolizes the cowpokes and gunmen of the pulp magazines he uses to teach his pupils.

When a pretty teenage student is kidnapped by the infamous bandit El Diablo (Robert Beltran who's terrific), he sets out single handedly to rescue her, gathering together a colorful group of "badmen" each with his own agenda.

Edwards and Louis Gossett Jr. head a great supporting cast with standout performances by John Glover and Joe Pantoliano as Kid "Durango". In fact, there's no slackers here!

Though no Magnificent Seven, El Diablo is worth watching and worthwhile for fans.

Colorful characters, played by colorful actors almost push "El Diablo" beyond average, but not quite. There are several laugh out loud situations, but not enough to cover 108 minutes of this uneasy mixture of comedy and western. Lou Gossett and Anthony Edwards carry the film, with nice support from John Glover, Joe Pantoliano, and Robert Beltran. Unfortunately the straightforward fish out of water story is too simple and seems stretched to the max. There are a couple of instant classic lines however, my favorite being "You look a man straight in the back and then shoot him". I'm sure no horses were harmed during this movie either. LOL - MERK

A young student named Nettie (Sarah Trigger) is kidnapped from an oh so sleepy Texas town. Problem is she was kidnapped by the notorious El Diablo (Robert Beltran). Her teacher Billy Ray Smith (wonderfully played by Anthony Edwards) finds it is his duty to find Nettie and bring her back. Next problem is Billy Ray is the worst shot in the west. It is quite funny watching Billy Ray leave town on his horse (which he can not ride). Along the way he meets up with Van Leek (Louis Gossett Jr., who as usual puts in a great performance) who is going to assist him and might turn Billy Ray into a gunslinger.

A pretty good film that you have fun watching. May not even need to be a huge western fan to enjoy it either. Leaves laughs and dead horses in its wake. On a side note does have some good music by William Olvis, but I did find it at times reminiscent of ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST by Ennio Morricone.

Written by legendary director John Carpenter, Tommy Lee Wallace and Bill Phillips (who both worked with Carpenter on other film projects as well). Also starring John Glover as The Preacher and Joe Pantoliano as Kid Durango.

Wonderfully fun film that sometimes takes itself seriously, but mostly just has a lot of fun with the genre. Anthony Edwards is very well cast in his part, and Gossett is just fabulous as the "rode hard" old gunslinger who tries to turn Edwards into a western hero...sort of. Gossett's glorious line about why he shot someone in the back is no doubt destined to become a classic -- "Cuz that's the side he was pointing toward me." Whether you like westerns or not, this is definitely worth watching. And probably more than once.

Well worth your time, only once tho. Not good enough for you to laugh out loud, but you will sit there for a good hour and half with a loopsided smile and having quite a good time.