Character Relationship Map: The Mating Game

Characters

• Lorenzo Charlton (played by Tony Randall) — supporting

  An Internal Revenue Service investigator assigned by Oliver Kelsey to determine whether the Larkins owe back taxes, Lorenzo struggles to calculate their finances because Pop keeps no records. He grows...

• Pop Larkin (played by Paul Douglas) — supporting

  The patriarch of the Larkin family, Pop welcomes Lorenzo to the farm and cooperates with the tax investigation, though his habit of trading rather than keeping records makes the accounts difficult to...

• Wendell Burnshaw (played by Philip Ober) — supporting

  An irritated neighbor, Wendell brings the Larkin family's failure to file tax returns to the attention of the Internal Revenue Service, setting the investigation in motion. He later visits the farm wi...

• Oliver Kelsey (played by Fred Clark) — supporting

  Lorenzo's boss at the Internal Revenue Service, Kelsey assigns him to investigate the Larkins and later visits the farm with Wendell Burnshaw to assess his progress. Displeased by Lorenzo's relaxed co...

• Inspector General Bigelow (played by Charles Lane) — supporting

  The Larkins and Lorenzo go to Inspector General Bigelow to seek help with the receipt for horses bought by the government during the Civil War but never paid for. Bigelow's legal department calculates...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Inspector General Bigelow → Pop Larkin (Power Government Debtor) — Bigelow represents the institution that owes Pop's family money.

  Bigelow's legal department calculates that the government owes the Larkins more than $14 million in accrued payment for thirty Civil War horses.

• Lorenzo Charlton → Inspector General Bigelow (Professional Petitioner) — Lorenzo negotiates with Bigelow for an administrative solution.

  Lorenzo helps arrange a difficult meeting with Inspector General Bigelow and gets him to apply the government's unpaid horse debt against the Larkins'...

• Wendell Burnshaw → Lorenzo Charlton (Professional Progress Checker) — Burnshaw participates in the pressure placed on Lorenzo's assignment.

  Burnshaw visits the farm with Kelsey to check Lorenzo's progress on the investigation.

• Oliver Kelsey → Pop Larkin (Power Tax Authority) — Kelsey holds decisive financial power over Pop's farm.

  Kelsey calculates that the Larkins owe $50,000 and tells them they must sell the farm to Burnshaw or face foreclosure.

• Lorenzo Charlton → Pop Larkin (Professional Investigator And Taxpayer) — Their official relationship becomes the film's central working partnership.

  Lorenzo investigates the Larkin family's unpaid taxes, while Pop provides information about the farm's informal trading practices.

• Oliver Kelsey → Lorenzo Charlton (Professional Supervisor) — Kelsey directs Lorenzo's tax investigation.

  Oliver Kelsey is Lorenzo Charlton's boss and assigns him to investigate the Larkin family.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Oliver Kelsey → Wendell Burnshaw (Alliance Joint Investigative Visitors) — They temporarily act together while reviewing the investigation.

  Kelsey and Burnshaw drop by together to check Lorenzo's progress.

• Pop Larkin → Wendell Burnshaw (Conflict Property Opponents) — Burnshaw's interest in the farm places him against Pop's desire to keep it.

  Burnshaw is presented as the buyer to whom the Larkins can sell the farm after Kelsey demands payment.

Story Analysis

A rigid tax investigation becomes a test of personal flexibility, moral pride, and practical justice.

Plot Progression

1. The Unfiled Farm — Burnshaw's report brings the Larkin family under IRS scrutiny. Lorenzo arrives at the farm and discovers that the family has never filed a tax return or kept conventional records.
2. A Taxman's Transformation — Lorenzo works with Pop to reconstruct the family's obligations while becoming more emotionally and socially relaxed. Kelsey and Burnshaw's visit ends with Kelsey taking control and sending Lorenzo awa...
3. The Farm at Risk — Kelsey determines that the Larkins owe fifty thousand dollars and threatens foreclosure. Pop rejects his friends' proposed rescue through inflated purchases.
4. The Forgotten Government Debt — A receipt for thirty unpaid Civil War horses offers a possible solution. Lorenzo and Pop bring the claim to Inspector General Bigelow, whose legal department calculates an enormous accrued debt.
5. Taxes Answered by History — Pop refuses to accept money he did not earn, but Lorenzo negotiates a practical alternative. Bigelow agrees to apply the government debt against present and future taxes.