Large swaths of this movie, starting with the plot and including word-for-word blocks of dialog, come out of the movie Twelve O'Clock High, which appears to be uncredited, at least here. The setting has been changed from an American Army Air Force base in England in 1942 to a Chicago police department, but the essence of the plot -- new leader comes in to turn around an organization that is falling apart -- is the same. Unfortunately, most of the drama and insight was lost in the translation, producing scenes that simply don't make sense, or mess up the intent of the original. Whereas a key element of Twelve O'Clock high is about the high toll of warfare even on those who think they are doing the right thing, this movie boils down to "Suzanne Pleshette is tougher than everyone else." There is a deliberate contrast and parallel between the first leader (Gary Merril) and the second (Gregory Peck), but this movie basically begins with Suzanne Pleshette taking over, thus eliminating any sense of commonality under fire. Go see Twelve O'Clock High instead -- it's based on the true story of General Frank Armstrong, and was well and thoroughly researched.
Review of Alone in the Neon Jungle
