Al di là della legge AKA Beyond the Law (1968)

Directed by: Giorgio Stegani
Starring: Lee Van Cleef, Antonio Sabato, Gordon Mitchell, Lionel Stander

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Preacher: Let's make up our minds right now... are you my pal? Or are you the no-good sheriff of Silvertown?

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In Beyond The Law, Billy Joe Cudlip (Lee Van Cleef) and his gang rob a stagecoach carrying the payroll for the miners of Silvertown. The robbery is such a success that the townspeople don't even realize that it is Van Cleef and company who robbed them, and, in an ironic twist, look to Cudlip for protection from future robberies. Cudlip gladly agrees, seeing a chance to profit from their misplaced trust. Bemused at first at the extent to which he has fooled the town, Cudlip soon begins to enjoy the respect and admiration that comes from being an 'honest man.' Cudlip's gang - Preacher (Lionel Stander) and the unnamed 'Preacher's Associate' (Al Hoosmann) - however, are not as enamoured with their newfound 'respectable' status.

Preacher: We don't laugh anymore.
Preacher's Associate: We've become honest citizens! It's awful.
Preacher: Our carefree days have gone. Days of happy robberies... running from one town to the next. Escapes, hold-ups, women... it's all gone!

Cudlip's Gang

Cudlip manages to convince the duo, and himself, that their current law-abiding stint is just a prelude to a larger score down the road. But, as Cudlip begins to make friends with the townspeople - including the young hotshot Ben Novack (Antonio Sabato) and the beautiful Sally Davis (Graziella Granata) - the chances of Cudlip returning to his old lifestyle get slimmer. And when Cudlip accepts the town's request to fill in for the injured sheriff, his old friends decide they've had just about enough.

Preacher: If anyone had ever told you your best friend was going to be a sheriff, would you have believed it?
Preacher's Associate: If anyone had ever told me that about my best friend... I'd-a killed 'em!

As Cudlip is getting settled in, a second band of outlaws, lead by a feared killer named Burton (Gordon Mitchell), plot to steal the town's silver. Burton is almost gleeful in his evilness, introducing himself to the townspeople simply: "My gang just captured your women and children in the church. In exchange for their lives, I'll take all the gold in the warehouse." The town looks to Cudlip to get them out of danger, and he is left with the twin problems of figuring out how to do it, and with whom his true allegiance lies.

In many ways Cudlip's dilemma in Beyond the Law reflected what Van Cleef was experiencing in real life. By the time Beyond the Law was made, Van Cleef's biggest spaghetti western films - The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly, For a Few Dollars More, and Death Rides a Horse - were behind him. And, while Van Cleef continued to appear in spaghetti westerns from time to time after Beyond The Law (most notably in the Sabata films), the genre as a whole was beginning to die down, and Van Cleef would be forced forced to re-define himself in movies like Escape from Death Row, The Satanic Mechanic, and The Octagon. Whether Van Cleef ever managed to recapture the magic of his earlier films is a debatable matter, but recognizing the very real struggle Van Cleef was facing when he made this film makes it all the more enjoyable.

It's often hard to tell who did what in these old Italian movies, but Taranino favorite Fernando Di Leo is one of the 6 people who recieved a writing credit on this film. The gravel-voiced Lionel Stander is worth mentioning for his incredible scene-chewing performance. The character actor manages to steal every scene he's in... even when he's acting with Van Cleef - no small feat. Another fun cameo comes from Bud Spencer, who - as the owner of the silver mine - just seems incomplete without his beard or Terence Hill.

Beyond the Law is featured on the Wild East Lee Van Cleef double feature DVD, alongside The Grand Duel. Both films are valuable additions to any spaghetti western collection. The disc comes with the original trailer, a picture gallery, and alternate english credits, and can be purchased from Xploited Cinema.

- Micah