Character Relationship Map: That Funny Feeling

Characters

• Joan Howell (played by Sandra Dee) — protagonist

  Joan Howell is an aspiring actress who currently works as a maid and shares a modest home with Audrey. She dates Tom Milford, hides her home by using a client's lavish apartment, then retaliates when...

• Tom Milford (played by Bobby Darin) — supporting

  Tom Milford is a successful publishing executive and a womanizer who repeatedly encounters Joan and asks her out. After discovering Joan's deception in his own apartment, he moves in with Harvey and p...

• Harvey Granson (played by Donald O'Connor) — supporting

  Harvey Granson is Tom Milford's pal, who lets Tom move in with him after Tom discovers Joan's deception. Harvey is also dealing with an acrimonious divorce and hiding property from his wife at Tom's a...

• Audrey (played by Nita Talbot) — supporting

  Audrey is Joan Howell's aspiring-actress friend and housemate, sharing Joan's modest home while both pursue acting ambitions. She is part of Joan's immediate support circle, and in the police van afte...

Canonical Relationships

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

• Joan Howell → Tom Milford (Romantic Interest) — Their attraction develops amid concealed identities and confusion over Tom's apartment; Joan's discovery leaves her angry and determined to confront him.

  Joan and Tom share an evening and arrange to meet again. Joan later learns that the man she knew as O'Shea is Tom Milford and decides to keep their ne...

Story Dynamics

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

• Tom Milford → Harvey Granson (Social Friends) — Harvey's concern about the paintings puts pressure on Tom, who asks his friend to delay involving the police.

  Harvey is identified as Tom's friend. When Harvey worries about the valuable paintings in the apartment, Tom persuades him to give him more time rathe...

• Joan Howell → Audrey (Social Friends And Housemates) — Audrey assists Joan and offers a candid reminder when Joan is upset about Tom's deception.

  The plot says Joan attempts to prepare duck à l'orange with help from Audrey. Audrey later reminds Joan that she had taken over Tom's apartment and so...

Story Analysis

Joan and Tom's growing attraction becomes tangled in concealed identities, an apartment misunderstanding, and Joan's angry response to a humiliating revelation.

Plot Progression

1. Mistaken First Impressions — Joan's work and audition antics introduce her unpredictable circumstances. Tom's complications intersect with Joan when he mistakes her for someone from his past, and the two arrange another meeting.
2. Trouble in the Apartment — Tom discovers Joan in his apartment, where she becomes entangled with his home and possessions. Harvey's concern about valuable paintings raises the stakes, but Tom persuades him not to call the polic...
3. An Elaborate Dinner — Joan conceals the truth about herself as she grows closer to Tom and tries to impress him. With Audrey's help, she attempts to prepare duck à l'orange, while the pair's deceptions and mishaps deepen t...
4. The Name Revealed — Joan learns that O'Shea is actually Tom Milford and feels humiliated and furious. Audrey reminds her of Joan's own actions in Tom's apartment, but Joan remains intent on getting even.