Character Relationship Map: The Front

Characters

• Howard Prince (played by Woody Allen) — protagonist

  A New York restaurant cashier and small-time bookie who agrees to act as a front for blacklisted screenwriters, signing their television scripts for a share of the money. His success brings him into c...

• Hecky Brown (played by Zero Mostel) — supporting

  A prominent television actor whose earlier participation in a May Day parade and subscription to The Daily Worker lead to his dismissal and blacklisting. He investigates Howard for the authorities, bu...

• Philip Sussman (played by Herschel Bernardi) — supporting

  A network television producer who is pleased to receive scripts submitted under Howard's name because Howard is not on the blacklist. He values the material and supports a script that provides a desir...

• Alfred Miller (played by Michael Murphy) — supporting

  A television screenwriter blacklisted during the anti-Communist investigations, leaving him unable to obtain work under his own name. He asks his friend Howard to serve as a front, signing and submitt...

• Florence Barrett (played by Andrea Marcovicci) — supporting

  An idealistic script editor working with Philip Sussman who mistakes Howard for a principled and talented writer because of the quality and volume of the scripts submitted under his name. She dates Ho...

• Committee Counselor (played by Charles Kimbrough) — minor

  A counsel involved in the House Un-American Activities Committee's interrogation of Howard. The hearing officials question him about his alleged Communist connections, pressure him to speak against He...

• Committee Chairman (played by Josef Sommer) — minor

  The presiding official at the House Un-American Activities Committee hearing where Howard is questioned about his political associations and personal conduct. The committee's interrogation becomes a c...

Canonical Relationships

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

• Florence Barrett → Philip Sussman (Professional Script Editor And Producer) — Florence works as a script editor in Sussman's television operation and evaluates the scripts credited to Howard.

  Florence is described as Sussman's idealistic script editor.

• Philip Sussman → Hecky Brown (Professional Producer And Actor) — Sussman's television production connects Hecky to the scripts being submitted under Howard's name.

  The script submitted to Sussman offers a desirable role for Hecky, one of Sussman's top actors.

• Philip Sussman → Howard Prince (Professional Producer And Script Submitter) — Sussman accepts and values the scripts credited to Howard, unknowingly advancing the front arrangement.

  Sussman is pleased to receive scripts submitted under Howard's name because Howard is not on the television blacklist.

• Howard Prince → Florence Barrett (Romantic Relationship) — Their relationship begins while Florence mistakenly believes Howard writes the scripts; after he tells her the truth, she remains supportive at his arrest.

  Florence dates Howard, later learns that he is a cashier rather than the writer she believed him to be, and kisses him goodbye when he is taken away.

Story Dynamics

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

• Howard Prince → Committee Chairman (Conflict Witness And Presiding Official) — Howard's refusal to recognize the hearing's authority directly challenges the chairman's proceedings.

  The chairman presides over the hearing where Howard is questioned, and the confrontation culminates in Howard rejecting the committee's authority befo...

• Howard Prince → Committee Counselor (Conflict Interrogated Subject And Counsel) — The counselor's questioning and threats contribute to Howard's confrontation with the committee.

  The counselor is involved in the committee interrogation, where Howard is questioned about alleged Communist connections, pressured to speak against H...

• Hecky Brown → Committee Counselor (Conflict Investigation Target) — The plot establishes the committee's investigation as part of the system that blacklists Hecky, but does not describe a direct interaction between these two named characters.

  The plot says investigators expose and blacklist people in the entertainment industry, and Hecky is fired because of his earlier May Day march and sub...

• Howard Prince → Hecky Brown (Conflict Friend And Investigative Target) — Hecky's assignment puts him in the position of investigating Howard, while the hearing later tries to use Hecky's case against Howard.

  Hecky invites Howard to the Catskills after being instructed to find out more about Howard's involvement with the Communist Party. Howard later faces...

• Howard Prince → Alfred Miller (Alliance Friend And Front) — Howard's use of his own name allows Miller's scripts to reach television producers, while Miller continues writing them.

  Miller, blacklisted and unable to get work, asks his friend Howard to submit scripts under Howard's name for ten percent of the income. Howard agrees.

Story Analysis

A cashier's borrowed authorship draws him into the blacklist era's coercive investigations and a public act of defiance.

Plot Progression

1. A Writer Behind a Front — Blacklisted writer Alfred Miller asks Howard to submit scripts under his own name. Howard accepts, and producer Sussman responds favorably to the work.
2. Success and Concealment — Howard's success attracts additional blacklisted writers and Florence's admiration. Their dating begins while Howard avoids explaining that he is not the writer.
3. Hecky's Collapse — Hecky is fired because of his past political associations and is pressured to investigate Howard. After further professional humiliation and financial distress, he dies by suicide.
4. The Hearing and Its Cost — As the investigations affect television and suspicion falls on Howard, he tells Florence the truth and faces HUAC. He refuses to recognize the committee's authority and is taken away in handcuffs.