Character Relationship Map: Brass Target

Characters

• Mara (played by Sophia Loren) — protagonist

  De Lucca's former girlfriend who assists him in tracking down the corrupt officers behind the gold robbery and Patton's assassination.

• Maj. Joe De Lucca (played by John Cassavetes) — protagonist

  OSS major initially suspected by Patton, he launches his own investigation to expose the corrupt officers and prevent the general's assassination.

• Shelley Martin Webber (played by Max von Sydow) — supporting

  Professional assassin hired by corrupt officers to kill Patton; poses as a soldier and is ultimately killed by De Lucca.

• Gen. George S. Patton (played by George Kennedy) — supporting

  General who orders the transport of Nazi gold, initiates an investigation into its theft, and is assassinated by Webber in a staged traffic accident.

• Col. Mike McCauley (played by Patrick McGoohan) — supporting

  De Lucca's old wartime commander currently residing in a requisitioned German castle.

Canonical Relationships

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

• Maj. Joe De Lucca → Mara (Former Romantic Partners And Allies) — Their past romantic relationship becomes a practical alliance as Mara assists De Lucca's investigation.

  Mara is identified as De Lucca's former girlfriend, and she helps him find the culprits.

• Maj. Joe De Lucca → Col. Mike McCauley (Professional Former Commander) — De Lucca seeks out McCauley, his former commander, while pursuing his own investigation.

  De Lucca visits his old wartime commander, Colonel Mike McCauley, who is living in a requisitioned German castle.

Story Dynamics

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

• Maj. Joe De Lucca → Shelley Martin Webber (Conflict Pursuer And Assassin) — Their pursuit ends with De Lucca killing Webber after Webber's successful assassination of Patton.

  De Lucca tracks down Webber after the assassin kills Patton and kills him with Webber's own weapon.

• Shelley Martin Webber → Gen. George S. Patton (Conflict Assassin And Target) — Webber carries out the assassination intended to halt the investigation into the gold robbery.

  Webber is hired to kill Patton and later kills him in a staged traffic accident, striking him with a rubber bullet as a truck collides with Patton's c...

• Gen. George S. Patton → Maj. Joe De Lucca (Conflict Investigator And Suspect) — Patton's inquiry initially puts De Lucca under suspicion, prompting De Lucca to investigate the robbery himself.

  After the gold train robbery, Patton's investigation initially leads to OSS major Joe De Lucca, whose wartime operations plan was taken by the thieves...

Story Analysis

After a Nazi gold train robbery exposes a conspiracy among corrupt American officers, De Lucca investigates while trying to prevent the assassination of Patton.

Plot Progression

1. The Stolen Gold — Patton orders Nazi gold transported to Frankfurt, but the train is robbed before it arrives. Poison gas kills 59 military policemen in a railroad tunnel, and the crime is linked to corrupt American of...
2. De Lucca Under Suspicion — Patton's investigation initially points to De Lucca because the thieves took a plan from his wartime operations. De Lucca starts his own inquiry and visits his former commander McCauley.
3. The Assassin's Pursuit — The corrupt officers hire Webber to kill Patton and halt the inquiry. Mara helps De Lucca, and the pair discover that Webber is pursuing them and intends to kill Patton.
4. Patton's Staged Death — Webber poses as an American soldier and stages a traffic accident involving Patton's car and a military truck. He fires a rubber bullet that breaks Patton's neck, after which De Lucca tracks him down...