Edwards Gives ‘El Diablo’ His Due

Anthony Edwards goes from “Top Gun” to gun-shy in “El Diablo,” a funny, original Western made for HBO last year that is now available on videocassette. He plays Billy Ray Smith, a bumbling schoolteacher from Boston now living in a small town in the Southwest who vows to rescue a girl kidnaped from his class by a ruthless thief and killer.

However, he’s as incompetent as he is pure-hearted, perhaps doubly so, and makes the guys in “City Slickers” look like Clint Eastwood in “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.” Smith is shy and faints at the sight of blood. Plus, he can’t shoot or ride--when he tries to do either, he tends to ventilate his horse.

Because Billy Ray knows he has no chance against El Diablo--an arrogant, impatient and lethally self-assured villain--he seeks the help of a legendary cowboy called Kid Durango.

Clearly, his quest won’t be easy. The first person he asks for help in finding Kid Durango is shot in the back in mid-response by an ornery gunslinger named Thomas Van Leek, played by Louis Gossett Jr. When asked why he would shoot someone in the back, Van Leek explains, “His back was to me.”

Though Van Leek derides Billy Ray’s notions of a “fair fight,” the two reluctantly team up and together gather a band of unlikely heroes, including a phony preacher and two condemned criminals, to rescue the girl. They also enlist the help of Kid Durango (Joe Pantoliano), whose prowess with firearms and familiarity with the outdoors may have been more than a little exaggerated.

Edwards is charming as Billy Ray, a man so meek that he apologizes to chickens when he crosses their paths, and Gossett plays his role with a bruising cynicism. Robert Beltran also portrays the cruel and charismatic outlaw El Diablo with gusto.

“El Diablo” (1990), directed by Peter Markle. Rated PG-13. 108 minutes.