El crack (1981)

Private detective Germán Areta gets a terminally ill client who wishes to see his long lost, runaway daughter before he dies. But when Areta starts looking into case, that leads him to the ... See full summary »

Director:

José Luis Garci

Writers:

José Luis Garci, Horacio Valcárcel (screenplay)

Stars:

Alfredo Landa, María Casanova, Manuel Tejada

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alfredo Landa	...	Germán Areta
María Casanova	...	Carmen
Manuel Tejada	...	Don Alberto 'El Guapo'
Miguel Rellán	...	Cárdenas 'El Moro'
Manuel Lorenzo	...	Rocky
Raúl Fraire	...	Francisco Medina
José Bódalo	...	Don Ricardo
Francisco Vidal	...	Nico
Maite Blasco	...	Merche
José Manuel Cervino	...	Vareta
Mayrata O'Wisiedo	...	Mimí de Torres (as Mairata O'Wisiedo)
José Luis Merino	...	Meri
Ramón Lillo	...	Jugador de mus
Pablo Hoyos	...	Camarero (as Pablo Hoyo)
Antonio del Río

Storyline

Private detective Germán Areta gets a terminally ill client who wishes to see his long lost, runaway daughter before he dies. But when Areta starts looking into case, that leads him to the dark, underbelly of Madrid, he realizes that he is not only one looking for this girl. Someone else is also interested in her, someone powerful and dangerous who will stop at nothing to prevent Areta from knowing the truth....

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Plot Keywords:

private detective | reference to charlie chan | prostitution | reference to humphrey bogart | madrid spain | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

1 April 1981 (Spain)

Also Known As:

The Crack

Filming Locations:

Madrid, Spain

Box Office

Gross:

ESP 101,684,613 (Spain)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Acuarius Films S.A., Impala, Nickel Odeon

Technical Specs

Runtime:

131 min 119 min (DVD edition)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

References Ratataplan (1979)

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Soundtracks

"Mercie Cherie"
Written by Udo Jurgens
Performed by Jesús Gluck (piano), José Oliver (flute) and Fernando López (guitar)

User Reviews

Well done

I saw this one back in 1981 and it's commercial title was "Diente por Diente" which means a teeth for a teeth. I remember I was quite impressed for the suspenseful quality of his flick. Years later, by the turn of the century, I made a list of several films I had seen in the past and that where in some way outstanding, and of course, "El Crack" was one of them... but it wasn't available anywhere (I was near at one place who had had it but the tape had gone into pieces). Again, many years later, -26 exactly since its original release- I finally find it, and start watching it with very different eyes: those that 26 years add to your life experience. At first, the first 1/2 hour, the film looks somewhat vulgar and filled with apparently unnecessary details of the main character, but then it starts to raise and raise (which is a unique quality of good films), with very good and unexpected twists. All in all, this is a very good movie and in case you have it at hand, don't miss it. I also found "El Crack 2", a kind of sequel made 2 years later, which I had never seen before. It's not so good as the first part, but it's good and worth watching also. I gave the first part an 8 and the sequel a 7.