Character Relationship Map: Blackmail

Characters

• Alice White (played by Anny Ondra) — protagonist

  A young woman who kills an artist in self-defense during an attempted rape, then struggles with guilt and considers confessing. She is central to the investigation and ultimately tells her boyfriend t...

• Detective Frank Webber (played by John Longden) — supporting

  A Scotland Yard detective and Alice's boyfriend. He investigates the killing, recognizes the victim, hides his connection to Alice, and helps protect her after learning the truth.

• Tracy (played by Donald Calthrop) — supporting

  A witness who saw Alice enter the artist's flat and tries to blackmail Alice and Frank using the gloves. He flees when the police arrive and dies during the pursuit at the British Museum.

Canonical Relationships

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

• Alice White → Detective Frank Webber (Romantic Girlfriend) — Their romantic relationship is strained by the murder and the concealment of the truth.

  Frank escorts Alice to a tea house as his girlfriend. After the crisis, Alice and Frank leave together.

Story Dynamics

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

• Tracy → Detective Frank Webber (Conflict Blackmailer) — Tracy turns Frank's knowledge of the case into another target for extortion.

  When Tracy sees Frank with the other glove, he attempts to blackmail both of them and demands payment.

• Tracy → Alice White (Conflict Blackmailer) — Tracy exploits Alice's connection to the murder to pressure her into compliance.

  Tracy says he saw Alice enter the artist's flat and uses one of her gloves to make demands.

Story Analysis

A woman hides a self-defense killing while a detective and a blackmailer struggle over the evidence that can expose her.

Plot Progression

1. A Date Turns Dangerous — Frank and Alice argue at a tea house, after which Alice visits an artist's studio. The artist's advances turn the evening into a violent struggle.
2. The Hidden Killing — Alice kills the artist in self-defense and attempts to remove traces of her presence. Her abandoned glove becomes a dangerous piece of evidence.
3. Gloves And Blackmail — Frank discovers the glove and conceals his recognition of the dead man. Tracy arrives with the second glove and begins blackmailing Alice and Frank.
4. The Museum Pursuit — Frank arranges for police to question Tracy, but Tracy flees. The pursuit reaches the British Museum and ends with Tracy's fatal fall.
5. Truth Beneath The Evidence — The police wrongly assume Tracy was the murderer, while Alice goes to New Scotland Yard to confess. She tells Frank the truth, and they leave together under the shadow of the damaged painting.