Norman Mailer

Beyond the Law

Beyond the Law

Mailer’s belief that we’re all capable of being either police or criminals was the impetus for his second feature, which takes place over the course of one feverish night in a Manhattan police precinct and neighboring bar. The texture of the black-and-white stock and the intense depiction of the police lineup process lend the film a rugged, journalistic feel. In addition to Mailer, who cast himself as tough-guy Irish cop Francis Xavier Pope, Beyond the Law features Rip Torn and George Plimpton.

Film Info

  • United States
  • 1968
  • 97 minutes
  • Black & White
  • 1.33:1
  • English

Available In

Collector's Set

Eclipse Series 35: Maidstone and Other Films by Norman Mailer

Eclipse Series 35: Norman Mailer

DVD Box Set

2 Discs

$27.96

Beyond the Law
Cast
Rip Torn
Popcorn
George Plimpton
Mayor
Norman Mailer
Lieutenant Francis Xavier Pope
Mickey Knox
Mickey Berk
Buzz Farbar
Rocco Gibraltar
Beverly Bentley
Mary Pope
Mara Lynn
Ilse Fuchs
Lee Roscoe
Lee Ray Rogers
Marcia Mason
Marcia Stillwell
Mary Wilson Price
Judy Grundy
Noel Parmentel
Assistant DA
Jack Richardson
Jack Scott
Harold Conrad
Perry Fuchs
Edward Bonnetti
Wife killer
Peter Rosoff
Subway arrestee
John Maloon
John Francis
Credits
Director
Norman Mailer
Produced by
Buzz Farbar
Produced by
Norman Mailer
From a story by
Norman Mailer
Cinematography
D. A. Pennebaker
Cinematography
Proferes Nicholas T.
Cinematography
Jan Welt
Editing
Norman Mailer
Editing
Jan Welt
Editing
Lana Jokel
Music
Frank Conroy

Current

Eclipse Series 35: Maidstone and Other Films by Norman Mailer
Eclipse Series 35: Maidstone and Other Films by Norman Mailer

In the 1960s, Mailer, already a literary legend, was inspired by the avant-garde film movement to take a stab at his own, anti-Warholian underground cinema.

By Michael Chaiken

Pennebaker on Mailer: Wild 90 and Beyond the Law
Pennebaker on Mailer: Wild 90 and Beyond the Law
The feral first three films by Norman Mailer, available in our thirty-fifth Eclipse set, may look primitive, but Mailer had some of the best filmmakers in the business on set to help him out, including verité pioneers D. A. Pennebaker and Richard Le…