Character Relationship Map: Deadfall

Characters

• Henry (played by Michael Caine) — protagonist

  Henry is a professional cat burglar who enters a Spanish sanatorium under false pretences to approach the wealthy Salinas and rob his mansion. He joins Fe and Moreau in a burglary, begins an affair wi...

• Moreau (played by Eric Portman) — supporting

  Moreau is Fe's much older husband and Henry's partner in the planned robberies. He participates in the initial burglary but fails to open the safe, later reveals the disturbing truth about his relatio...

• Salinas (played by David Buck) — supporting

  Salinas is a wealthy patient at the Spanish sanatorium whom Henry deliberately approaches under a false pretence. His magnificent house becomes the central target of the robbery plan, although Salinas...

Story Dynamics

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

• Moreau → Salinas (Conflict Robbery Target) — Moreau is connected to Salinas through the planned mansion robbery.

  Moreau joins the plan to carry out the real robbery at Salinas's mansion after the initial burglary test.

• Henry → Salinas (Conflict Planned Robbery Target) — Salinas is the intended victim of Henry's central criminal plan.

  Henry enters a Spanish sanatorium under false pretences to get close to the wealthy Salinas and rob his magnificent house.

• Henry → Moreau (Alliance Criminal Partner) — They cooperate as professional burglars, although their partnership becomes increasingly unstable.

  Moreau approaches Henry to form a criminal alliance and proposes a test burglary before robbing Salinas's mansion.

Story Analysis

A criminal partnership collapses under betrayal, concealed identity, destructive desire, and the fatal consequences of pursuing one final robbery.

Plot Progression

1. The Sanatorium Deception — Henry enters a Spanish sanatorium under false pretences. His concealed purpose is to approach Salinas and prepare a robbery of the wealthy man's house.
2. A Partnership Under Strain — Moreau recruits Henry for a criminal alliance, and they test their abilities by entering another stately home. Henry's dangerous work and Moreau's failure with the safe expose tensions between them.
3. Affection and Hidden Debts — Henry becomes involved with Moreau's wife and receives a Jaguar after the successful burglary. Her departure to Tangier leaves Henry dependent on Moreau's disturbing explanation of the past.
4. The Partnership Collapses — Moreau's confession exposes a deeply concealed family secret. Henry reacts with contempt and abandons the joint plan, while Moreau becomes suicidal and depressed.
5. Deaths at the Mansion — Henry attempts the Salinas robbery alone and is shot while leaving the mansion. At the same moment, Moreau dies by suicide, bringing both criminal and personal plots to their violent conclusion.