Character Relationship Map: Slightly Dangerous

Characters

• Bob Stuart (played by Robert Young) — supporting

  Bob is the new general manager of the store where Peggy works. After her disappearance, he is blamed by the townspeople and loses his job. Seeing Peggy's photograph in a newspaper, he follows her to e...

• Durstin (played by Eugene Pallette) — supporting

  Durstin is a publisher at the newspaper where Peggy is found unconscious after being struck by a falling paint can. Assuming she has amnesia, he takes her in and publishes her photograph. Peggy then p...

• Baba (played by May Whitty) — supporting

  Baba is Carol Burden's childhood nanny. She meets Peggy after Peggy claims to be Carol and helps Cornelius assess the claim by asking questions about Carol's childhood. Although she later learns Peggy...

• Jimmy (played by Ward Bond) — supporting

  Jimmy is the Burden family's bodyguard. When Bob sneaks into the Burden mansion after reading about Peggy's reunion with Cornelius, Jimmy incapacitates him, temporarily stopping Bob from confronting P...

• Mitzi (played by Pamela Blake) — supporting

  Mitzi is Peggy's co-worker at the soda shop in Hotchkiss Falls. Peggy bets her that she can serve ice cream sundaes while blindfolded, an incident that draws the attention of the store's new general m...

Canonical Relationships

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

• Bob Stuart → Mitzi (Professional Workplace Associate) — Bob supervises the workplace where Mitzi is a co-worker.

  Mitzi works with the soda jerk at the Hotchkiss Falls store, where Bob Stuart becomes the new general manager and reprimands the soda jerk after the b...

Story Dynamics

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

• Jimmy → Baba (Alliance Household Associates) — Both serve the Burden household in different protective and caregiving roles.

  Jimmy is identified as the family's bodyguard, while Baba is identified as the family's childhood nanny; both are involved in the mansion's response t...

• Durstin → Baba (Social Connected Household Inquiry) — Their roles connect the newspaper investigation with the family verification process.

  Durstin helps bring the unidentified woman into contact with the Burden household, where Baba later tests her memories as the childhood nanny.

• Bob Stuart → Baba (Conflict Opposing Interests) — Bob seeks to reveal the deception, whereas Baba ultimately supports preserving it.

  When Baba arrives at the motel with Cornelius, Bob attempts to stop the impersonation from being exposed, while Baba later asks the impostor to contin...

• Bob Stuart → Jimmy (Conflict Physical Adversaries) — Jimmy directly obstructs Bob's attempt to enter the mansion.

  Bob sneaks into the Burden mansion and is incapacitated by Jimmy, who serves as the family's bodyguard.

• Bob Stuart → Durstin (Conflict Information Rivals) — Durstin's publication unintentionally gives Bob information that advances his investigation.

  Bob reads the newspaper article published by Durstin and uses it to pursue the woman whose photograph appears in the paper.

Story Analysis

A desperate reinvention becomes an unconventional search for belonging when a false identity is accepted as emotionally real.

Plot Progression

1. A Vanishing Soda Jerk — A bored soda jerk provokes a workplace reprimand and then disappears after leaving a note. Bob is blamed by the locals, though the disappearance is actually an escape to Manhattan.
2. The Newspaper Identity — A paint-can accident places the runaway in Durstin's newspaper office. A published photograph and an archive search create the possibility of adopting the identity of a long-missing girl.
3. The Mansion Claim — Bob discovers the newspaper photograph and begins investigating. The claimant enters the mansion, and Baba's childhood questions make the false identity appear convincing.
4. Evidence And Pursuit — Bob is stopped by Jimmy, follows the claimant through public places, and obtains a fingerprint. His forged marriage certificate produces a public confrontation at the party.
5. The Truth They Choose — The journey to Hotchkiss Falls turns into a motel confrontation after the claimant sabotages Bob's car. She confesses, but Baba and the household choose to keep her as their loved one, while Bob propo...