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Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Splendid film in American ¨Noir¨ style in which Germán Areta (a too serious Alfredo Landa) nicknamed ¨Piojo¨ undertakes another assignment . German in appointed by his old friend Don Ricardo (Jose Bodalo) who gives him a peculiar case . 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 . Private detective Germán Areta gets a mysterious gay client who wishes to investigate his long lost , runaway ex-lover . German once again goes into action to investigate whereabouts a doctor from a pharmaceutical lab . Being helped by Cardenas , alias ¨El Moro¨(Miguel Rellan) , and following his sentimental problems with his ordinary girlfriend , Carmen (Maria Casanova) . But when Germán starts looking into case , strange happenings take place , such as robbing and killing , as someone else is also interested in him , someone powerful and dangerous who will stop at nothing to prevent Areta from knowing the truth. Second installment about adventures and misfortunes of sleuth Areta , the most particular private eye of the Spanish cinema . 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 gay man to investigate his ex-lover , it leads him to the dark , underbelly of Madrid , he realizes that he is not only one looking for this old homosexual . 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 homosexuals , chemical laboratories , false medicines , a dark Mafia 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 frames from ¨The asphalt jungle¨(1950) with Marilyn Monroe and Louis Calhern . The film is dedicated to Raymond Chandler , while the first part ¨The Crack I¨ was dedicated to Dasiell Hammet . 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 group of small-time delinquents . Support cast gives nice interpretations such as Maria Casanova as his sweetheart , Miguel Rellán as his helper , Arturo Fernández as a wealthy mobster , Rafael De Penagos as a veteran , higher class gay , José Manuel Cervino as an Inspector Chief , Fernando Bilbao as a corpulent bodyguard and , of course , the great José Bódalo . Most of them played in ¨The crack I¨ adding Manuel Tejada , Francisco Vidal , Raul Freire and Maite Blasco. Enjoyable and appropriate settings by Felix Murcia . 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 . 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. Rating : Better than average and well worth seeing . For these reasons ¨Crack II¨ is essential and indispensable watching .