Character Relationship Map: Cornered

Characters

• Laurence Gerard (played by Dick Powell) — protagonist

  A Canadian RCAF flyer and former POW, Laurence Gerard returns to France after World War II to investigate the killing of his bride, who belonged to the French Resistance. His search leads him to Bueno...

• Melchior Incza (played by Walter Slezak) — supporting

  A mysterious man who approaches Laurence Gerard in Buenos Aires, Melchior Incza claims to know much about Gerard and initially offers help. He searches for the dossier on Marcel Jarnac, kills Diego wh...

• Mme. Madeleine Jarnac(Laurent) (played by Micheline Cheirel) — supporting

  The woman presented as Marcel Jarnac's widow, she is questioned by Laurence Gerard in Buenos Aires but refuses to cooperate at first. She is being paid to impersonate the wife of a man she has never s...

• Señora Camargo (played by Nina Vale) — supporting

  The wife of Señor Tomas Camargo, she entertains Laurence Gerard in a luxurious room and attempts to seduce him into her wealthy, pleasure-seeking life. Gerard kisses her but rejects her advance, expla...

• Manuel Satana (played by Morris Carnovsky) — supporting

  A lawyer and associate of Diego and DuBois, Manuel Satana asks Laurence Gerard to stop following Mme. Madeleine Jarnac(Laurent) without explaining the reason. He helps prevent Gerard from shooting the...

• DuBois, Insurance Man (played by Edgar Barrier) — supporting

  An associate of Manuel Satana and Diego, DuBois is falsely identified as Marcel Jarnac when a forged note sends Laurence Gerard to his address. Gerard nearly shoots him, but the deception is stopped;...

• Marcel Jarnac (played by Luther Adler) — supporting

  A Vichy collaborator believed to have died in 1943, Marcel Jarnac is the man Laurence Gerard seeks for ordering the killing of Gerard's bride. He leads a secret Nazi organization, kills Melchior Incza...

• Diego, Hotel Valet (played by Jack La Rue) — supporting

  A hotel valet who appears in Laurence Gerard's room at an unusual hour, Diego is actually an associate of Manuel Satana and DuBois. He interrupts Melchior Incza while Incza searches for the dossier an...

• Señor Tomas Camargo (played by Steven Geray) — supporting

  A wealthy businessman and associate of Mme. Madeleine Jarnac(Laurent), Señor Tomas Camargo hosts the party where Laurence Gerard meets members of the social circle. He later serves as a reluctant witn...

Canonical Relationships

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

• Señor Tomas Camargo → Mme. Madeleine Jarnac(Laurent) (Professional Business Associate) — Camargo's social circle provides the setting where Gerard meets the supposed widow and begins questioning her.

  Camargo hosts a party attended by the supposed widow, and the plot describes him as her associate.

• Laurence Gerard → Señora Camargo (Romantic Rejected Seduction) — Gerard briefly kisses her but refuses the life and intimacy she offers because he remains devoted to his deceased wife.

  Camargo's wife tries to seduce Gerard into her life of luxury and vice. Gerard kisses her but rejects her advance, saying he still loves his dead brid...

Story Dynamics

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

• Señor Tomas Camargo → Marcel Jarnac (Conflict Coerced Associate) — Camargo objects to Jarnac's plan, but Jarnac uses compromising evidence to control him.

  Jarnac threatens Camargo with a paper connecting him to Jarnac, forcing Camargo to witness the planned killing of Gerard.

• Laurence Gerard → Diego, Hotel Valet (Narrative Suspect And Victim's Associate) — Diego's murder puts Gerard under suspicion, although his alibi prevents the accusation from holding.

  After Incza kills Diego, Gerard returns and is detained as a murder suspect; a waiter confirms his alibi.

• Melchior Incza → Diego, Hotel Valet (Conflict Murderer And Victim) — Diego's discovery of Incza's search leads directly to Incza murdering him.

  When Diego interrupts Incza searching Gerard's room for the dossier, Incza kills him.

• Manuel Satana → Diego, Hotel Valet (Alliance Associates) — Satana and Diego act together to stop Gerard from killing the wrong man.

  The plot identifies Diego as an associate of Satana. They both intervene to prevent Gerard from shooting DuBois.

• Manuel Satana → DuBois, Insurance Man (Alliance Associate) — DuBois works with Satana, and they arrive together to find Jarnac dead after the final struggle.

  The plot identifies DuBois as an associate of Manuel Satana and Diego; both Satana and DuBois arrive after Gerard overpowers Jarnac.

• Laurence Gerard → DuBois, Insurance Man (Conflict Misidentified Target) — A forged lead brings Gerard close to killing DuBois, whom the plot identifies as an associate of Satana and Diego rather than Jarnac.

  A forged note identifies DuBois as Jarnac under the name Ernest Dubois, and Gerard nearly shoots him before Satana and Diego intervene.

• Laurence Gerard → Manuel Satana (Alliance Reluctant Protector) — Satana initially withholds his reasons from Gerard but intervenes to prevent a mistaken killing and helps turn Jarnac's papers over to the authorities.

  Satana asks Gerard to stop following the supposed widow and later intervenes with Diego to prevent Gerard from shooting the wrong man. He arrives afte...

• Mme. Madeleine Jarnac(Laurent) → Marcel Jarnac (Unknown Paid Impersonator) — Her supposed status as Jarnac's widow is a paid deception rather than a genuine marriage.

  The plot states that she is being paid to act as Jarnac's wife despite never having seen him.

• Laurence Gerard → Mme. Madeleine Jarnac(Laurent) (Narrative Investigator And Informant) — Gerard presses her for information; her eventual cooperation gives him a lead that proves deceptive and puts him in danger.

  Gerard questions the woman presented as Jarnac's widow, and she initially refuses to cooperate. She later provides information that leads Gerard to th...

• Melchior Incza → Marcel Jarnac (Conflict Betrayer Turned Victim) — Incza's shifting loyalty ends when Jarnac kills him during the final confrontation.

  Incza attempts to betray Jarnac to Camargo, then claims there is no dossier in an effort to regain Jarnac's trust. Jarnac kills him.

• Laurence Gerard → Melchior Incza (Conflict Adversaries) — Their wary interaction turns into open opposition as both pursue information about Jarnac and Incza manipulates Gerard's investigation.

  Incza approaches Gerard in Buenos Aires, searches for the supposed dossier, and later tells him that Jarnac will meet Camargo. Incza's actions contrib...

• Laurence Gerard → Marcel Jarnac (Conflict Avenger And Target) — Gerard's search for his bride's killer culminates in a confrontation with Jarnac, whom Gerard overpowers and kills.

  Gerard returns to investigate who ordered the killing of his bride, and Étienne Rougon identifies Jarnac as the suspected culprit. Jarnac later captur...

Story Analysis

A former POW pursues his bride's killer across continents and becomes entangled in a deception surrounding a hidden Nazi organization.

Plot Progression

1. A Vengeance Begins — Gerard returns to France after the war to investigate the killing of his bride. Rougon identifies Jarnac, and a burned dossier fragment leads Gerard toward Buenos Aires.
2. The Buenos Aires Circle — Gerard meets Incza, attends Camargo's party, and questions the woman presented as Jarnac's widow. Satana's warning and the suspicious hotel visit suggest that others are pursuing the same mystery.
3. A False Identity — A forged note nearly leads Gerard to shoot DuBois, but Satana and Diego stop him. Gerard learns that the supposed widow is paid to impersonate a woman married to a man she has never met.
4. Murder and Entrapment — Gerard misleads Incza about the dossier while rejecting Señora Camargo's advance. Incza kills Diego, Gerard becomes a murder suspect, and a lead about Jarnac draws him into a trap.
5. The Bar Confrontation — Jarnac appears while Gerard is captive and explains his political rationale. Incza tries to betray him, Jarnac kills Incza, and Gerard overpowers Jarnac before Satana and DuBois arrive.