AllMovie

Author Norman Mailer's sporadic ventures into filmmaking are usually pretty bad, but never without interest. Beyond the Law co-stars Mailer and several of his cronies, including fellow-author George Plimpton and actor Rip Torn. Also in the cast is Beverly Bentley, the onetime Mrs. Mailer. Set in a New York police precinct house, the improvised plotline concerns illicit gambling, motorcycle bums and corrupt city officials. The stilted, self-conscious performances of the cast indicate that Mailer might have been better off with a real script. Only Rip Torn looks as though he's playing a character rather than playing an actor playing a character.