BEYOND THE LAW (1968)

 

There's been a number of films over the years that have been titled BEYOND THE LAW. This one is a Euro Western from 1968, starring Lee Van Cleef. It's one I had never seen before, and one that should get more notice among Van Cleef fans. 

Van Cleef plays Cudlip, a drifter and small-time thief, who, along with his partners (Lionel Stander and Al Hoosmann) steal a payroll meant for a mining community. The person who was supposed to bring the payroll in is a earnest young European immigrant named Ben Novack (Antonio Sabato). Cudlip takes a shine to the fellow, and becomes something of a mentor to him. Cudlip even winds up inadvertently helping Ben obtain another payroll, making the would-be robber a hero in the mining town--he's even appointed temporary sheriff, to the consternation of his partners. With his new job, Cudlip has a chance at a new life--if he can stay on the straight and narrow, and survive an attack on the town by a gang of bandits led by the deadly Burton (Gordon Mitchell). 

Lee Van Cleef is by no means playing his typical "Colonel Mortimer"-type character in BEYOND THE LAW. Cudlip is scruffy, talkative, and not particularly clever. He and his partners think they can use the new-to-the-west Novack to get info on the mine's operations, but the young man has more to him than the supposed con men think. Once again Van Cleef is paired with a younger, more traditionally handsome leading man, and Antonio Sabato is very good as the not-so-naive Novack. It's never really explained why Cudlip goes out of his way to help Novack--is it because Cudlip appreciates the fact that Novack is a truly decent person? Or is it because Novack is taking a path that Cudlip should have chosen a long time ago? The story constantly shows that Cudlip isn't too enamored with a life of crime--he doesn't even want to shoot people if he doesn't have to. 

Van Cleef's character arc is the best thing about BEYOND THE LAW. When Cudlip becomes temporary sheriff, he buys some fancy new duds, and even makes a tentative move to romance a beautiful young woman living in the town played by Graziella Granata (SLAUGHTER OF THE VAMPIRES). But Cudlip soon realizes he's not good enough for her. It's rare that Van Cleef got to play someone who had ordinary wants and needs like most people--and in a Western, no less--but he shows by his facial expressions that Cudlip desires a "normal" life, and knows that his vagabond ways are getting him nowhere. 

BEYOND THE LAW isn't a grand, epic, action-packed Western--for the most part it has a lighthearted tone, and it tends to meander a bit. Things get more serious during the climax, and the change in attitude is somewhat abrupt. The movie is well-made, and it uses several Spanish locations that will be quite familiar to Spaghetti Western fans. Riz Ortolani provides a sweeping score. 

The supporting cast includes Bud Spencer as a mine executive--I'm never seen the actor so clean and neat-looking than here. Ann Smyrner (REPTILICUS) plays a saloon hall entertainer, and Gordon Mitchell gets the viewer's attention as the grim-faced, black-garbed main villain. Lionel Stander handles most of the comic relief as Cudlip's associate Preacher, so called because he's constantly quoting scripture (even though he never lives up to any of it). 

The director (and co-writer) of BEYOND THE LAW was one Giorgio Stegani. (One of the other co-writers was Warren Kiefer, director of CASTLE OF THE LIVING DEAD). 

I wouldn't call BEYOND THE LAW a great Euro Western, but it's a decent one, and it doesn't have the bizarre theatrics and over-the-top violence that defines most entries in the genre. The main reason to watch it is the chance to see Lee Van Cleef do something a bit different with a "good" bad guy role. BEYOND THE LAW can be found on YouTube and multiple streaming services, in various versions. This movie desperately needs a major official home video release.