It seems that HBO reinvents itself every so often. I remember my dad defending it back when we first got it, saying that, "no it was not porn." Today HBO is serious political dramas and about a decade ago it was stunning original series.Back in the late 80s and early 90s it was the comedy king. Stand up, Comic Relief, Mr. Show, and original movies that were simply hysterical.El Diablo was made at the height of HBO's comedy agenda and it shows. The film is comedy played straight. One of the funniest Westerns that was ever released and one of the first and few released in the all to short Western Revival

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.

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.

A very appealing comedy western. Anthony Edwards is very good as a tenderfoot schoolteacher from Boston who attempts to rescue one of his students (who is captured by the infamous El Diablo) without really knowing anything about the West or what his quest is going to entail. Luckily he meets up with a down-to-earth gunman who can help him along the way. Lou Gosset is excellent as the laidback, do whatever it takes gunfighter. When asked by Edwards why he shot a bad guy in the back he replies "Why, his back was to me." They meet up with a few other colorful characters and proceed to attempt the rescue. Good humor, good acting and colorful characterizations abound in this above average made for TV oater.