German once again goes into action to investigate whereabout a missing girl . Splendid film in American ¨Noir¨ style in which Germán Areta (a too serious Alfredo Landa) nicknamed ¨Piojo¨ undertakes adangerous assignment. Good film and once again a portentous acting by the great Alfredo Landa as the embittered Private detective Germán Areta who gets a terminally ill client (Raoul Freire) who wishes to see his long lost, runaway daughter before he dies. As the bitter as well as stubborn Areta carries out a new investigation , full of topical and ¨Castizo¨ characters who tell about boxing , play ¨Mus¨ cards and go to Madrid cinemas . Being helped by Cardenas , alias ¨El Moro¨(Miguel Rellan) , and following his sentimental problems with his ordinary girlfriend , Carmen (Maria Casanova), Private detective's lover , and her little girl .Meanwhile , German in appointed by his old friend Don Ricardo (Jose Bodalo) who gives him peculiar advices . But when Areta starts looking into case, it leads him to the dark underbelly of Madrid where he finds that he is not only one looking for the girl. Someone else is also interested in her, someone important and violent who will stop at nothing to prevent Areta from discovering the real happenings .

First installment about adventures and misfortunes of sleuth Areta , the most particular private eye of the Spanish cinema . This time Germán starts looking into case , strange events take place , such as robbing , kidnapping and killing , as someone else is also interested in him , someone powerful and dangerous who will stop at nothing to avoid Areta from knowing the truth. After the successful political-sentimental trilogy formed by ¨Asignatura Pendiente¨(1977) , ¨Solos En Madrugada¨(1978) and ¨Verdes Praderas¨(1979) , director Jose Luis Garci changes genre and shoots this noir film imitating the American style and popular actors as Humphrey Bogart and Robert Mitchum . Here the premise is simple , Areta is assigned by an old man to investigate about his daughter , it leads him to the dark , underbelly of Madrid , he realizes that he is not only one looking for this girl . In spite of slowness , the picture is pretty well , filled with suspense , thrills , emotion and a complex intrigue . Although it contains a weak pace , slow developing and a difficult storyline dealing with corruption , intrigue , ambition and and many other things . Here Jose Luis Garci and screenwriter Horacio Valcárcel adapt the American Noir to Democratic Spain with an adequate homage to this classic genre . As Garci pays tribute to it , including some homages taken from American Noir films . The movie is dedicated to Dasiell Hammet , while the second part ¨The Crack II¨ was dedicated to Raymond Chandler. The main aspect results to be its excellent cast and stands out Alfredo Landa giving a fabulous performance , including some breathtaking scenes in the beginning when Areta/Landa faces a duo of small-time delinquents . Support cast gives nice interpretations such as Maria Casanova as his sweetheart , Miguel Rellán as his helper , Manuel Tejada as a wealthy mobster , José Manuel Cervino as a crook , Francisco Vidal , Raul Freire , Maite Blasco and , of course , the great José Bódalo . Most of them played in ¨The crack II¨ . Enjoyable and appropriate settings by Felix Murcia , shot in Madrid and N.Y . Sentimental and repeated musical score by Jesus Gluck , being composed and performed by piano . Colorful cinematography by Manuel Rojas , showing wonderfully the city of Madrid and New York.

The motion picture was compellingly written (along with his usual collaborator Horacio Valcarcel) , financed (by his production company called Nickel Odeaon S.A.) and directed by Jose Luis Garci , though it was strongly criticized by melodrama trending and a very maudlin soundtrack . Jose Luis knows very well the American Noir genre and here he translates it to the Spanish idiosyncrasy . José Luis Garci is without a doubt one of the most influential film personalities in the history of film in Spain and perhaps the best known writer in the country . Garci won one Academy Award for ¨Volver a Empezar¨. He has left a distinguished talent in his successful movies throughout the years , as writing as shooting , such as : La Cabina (1972) , Las Verdes Praderas (1979), Sesión Continua , Volver a Empezar (1982), Canción De Cuna (1994), La Herida Luminosa (1997), El Abuelo (1998), Tiovivo c. 1950 (2004) , Ninette (2005) , Luz Del Domingo , among others. Being followed by Crack II and Crack Zero (2019) with Carlos Santos and José Maria Muñoz . Rating : Better than average and well worth seeing . For these reasons ¨El Crack ¨ is essential and indispensable watching .