Spanish cinema under the Franco regime wasn’t restricted quite to the same extent as Soviet cinema but it was pretty close. Spanish directors couldn’t depict police corruption, social breakdown, or other elements that would reflect poorly on the state, which made crime films especially difficult to push through the censors. Widely considered the first important crime film produced in Spain, Julio Salvador’s Apartado de correos 1001 (US: P.O. Box 1001) could be considered an ode to the Criminal Brigade, the film’s emphasis on law enforcement technique and discipline making for an entertaining police procedural that unfolds all across Barcelona with a climax in an amusement park fun house. Police investigators Miguel (Conrado San Martín) and Marcial (Manuel de Juan) are assigned to lead the investigation after a young man is gunned down in the street just in front of police headquarters. A search of the victim’s apartment leads to a post office box, then to a woman named Carmen (Elena Espejo), then to a drug trafficking syndicate and beyond. Salvador seems to advert subtly to state surveillance through a variety of point-of-view shots through holes in doors, locks, and fences, following the unidentified perpetrator’s shoes from scene to scene. Most of the action occurs in daylight, but cinematographer Larraya incorporates noir touches primarily through camera angles and framing, including a fantastically shot police stakeout and apprehension in a bustling public space. Notably, it’s the first film to showcase the sights of Barcelona through location shooting, incorporating stylistic touches of Italian neorealism to bring the Catalan city to life beyond the confines of a soundstage.