Character Relationship Map: Bluff

Characters

• Betty Hallowell (played by Agnes Ayres) — protagonist

  Betty is an unsuccessful fashion designer whose work is rejected by New York City modistes. After her brother Jack is crippled in an accident involving Mitchell's automobile, she refuses Mitchell's pr...

• Robert Fitzmaurice (played by Antonio Moreno) — supporting

  Robert is a young lawyer who comes to Betty's aid when Mitchell's secretary is about to have her arrested for impersonating Nina Loring. He threatens to expose Mitchell's crookedness and bluffs him in...

• Boss Mitchell (played by Fred J. Butler) — supporting

  Mitchell is a political boss whose automobile is involved in the accident that cripples Betty's brother Jack. When Betty refuses the slim compromise he offers, he swears vengeance on her. Later, Rober...

Canonical Relationships

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

• Betty Hallowell → Robert Fitzmaurice (Romantic Interest) — Robert's intervention develops into Betty's affection for him.

  Robert saves Betty from arrest, and the review states that he wins Betty's affection as a result.

Story Dynamics

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

• Robert Fitzmaurice → Boss Mitchell (Conflict Legal Opponent) — Robert confronts Mitchell through legal pressure and a calculated bluff.

  Robert threatens to expose Mitchell's crookedness and, by bluffing, causes Mitchell to back down.

• Betty Hallowell → Boss Mitchell (Conflict Adversary) — Betty's refusal turns Mitchell into a personal and political adversary.

  Mitchell's automobile is involved in the accident that cripples Betty's brother. When Betty refuses his limited compromise, Mitchell swears vengeance...

Story Analysis

A rejected designer uses deception to gain status, while a lawyer answers political intimidation with a stronger bluff.

Plot Progression

1. A Nobody in Gotham — Betty's fashion designs are rejected by New York modistes, while an accident involving Mitchell's automobile cripples her brother. Betty refuses Mitchell's compromise and becomes the target of his ven...
2. The Price of Prestige — Broke and excluded from Gotham's fashionable circles, Betty decides that she must bluff to gain prestige. She impersonates the missing Nina Loring, and the modistes begin buying her designs.
3. A Dangerous Identity — Betty's success becomes precarious when the real Nina Loring is revealed to be wanted for embezzlement. Mitchell's secretary moves to have Betty arrested, turning her invented identity into an immedia...
4. The Lawyer's Bluff — Robert Fitzmaurice saves Betty from arrest and confronts Mitchell. By threatening to expose Mitchell's crookedness, Robert bluffs him into backing down and protects Betty.