Character Relationship Map: Side Street

Characters

• Joe Norson (played by Farley Granger) — protagonist

  Joe is a part-time mailman who has lost his gas-station job and steals money from Victor Backett's office, believing it is only $200. Discovering the sum is $30,000, he hides it with Nick Drumman, tri...

• Ellen Norson (played by Cathy O'Donnell) — protagonist

  Ellen is Joe Norson's pregnant wife and the person whose future motivates his theft. Joe initially lies to her about the money, but later confesses. She urges him to surrender to the police and ultima...

• George Garsell / Mr. Howard (played by James Craig) — supporting

  George Garsell is an ex-con and accomplice of Victor Backett in the extortion scheme. He helps pursue Joe and recover the stolen money, strangles Nick Drumman and Harriette Sinton to silence witnesses...

• Capt. Walter Anderson (played by Paul Kelly) — supporting

  Capt. Walter Anderson of the New York Police Department investigates Lucille Colner's strangulation and questions the people connected to her diary. He pursues George Garsell for the murder and Joe fo...

• Harriette Sinton (played by Jean Hagen) — supporting

  Harriette Sinton is George Garsell's girlfriend and a singer whom Joe locates while trying to trace the stolen money. She betrays Joe to Garsell, but becomes a liability when Garsell strangles her to...

• Bartender (played by Norman Leavitt) — minor
• Emil Lorrison (played by Paul Harvey) — supporting

  Emil Lorrison is a wealthy broker whom Victor Backett frames in a sex scandal. With Lucille Colner and George Garsell's help, Backett uses the scandal to extort money from him. Lorrison is later quest...

Canonical Relationships

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

• Joe Norson → Ellen Norson (Family Husband And Wife) — Ellen's future motivates Joe's theft, but his lie about the money gives way to a confession; she supports him after the taxi crash.

  Joe lives with his pregnant wife Ellen. He later confesses the theft to her, and she urges him to surrender to the police.

Story Dynamics

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

• Emil Lorrison → Joe Norson (Unknown Unwitting Source Of Stolen Money) — Joe's theft draws him into the consequences of the money extorted from Emil, though the plot does not describe a direct meeting between them.

  The money Joe steals is identified as $30,000 connected to the extortion scheme involving Emil Lorrison.

• Capt. Walter Anderson → Joe Norson (Narrative Investigator And Suspect) — Anderson's investigation places Joe under suspicion even as Joe tries to uncover the source of the cash.

  Anderson pursues Joe in connection with the bartender's murder, while Joe tries to trace the money to clear himself.

• George Garsell / Mr. Howard → Harriette Sinton (Conflict Murderer And Victim) — Garsell kills Harriette after deciding she could expose him.

  Garsell strangles Harriette to eliminate her as a witness.

• Joe Norson → Harriette Sinton (Conflict Seeker And Betrayer) — Joe seeks information from Harriette, but she turns him over to Garsell, worsening the danger he faces.

  Joe locates Harriette while trying to trace the money, and she betrays him to Garsell.

• George Garsell / Mr. Howard → Bartender (Conflict Murderer And Victim) — Garsell kills the bartender to recover the hidden cash.

  Garsell finds the bartender first, strangles him, and recovers the money.

• Joe Norson → Bartender (Alliance Entruster And Custodian) — Joe relies on the bartender to safeguard the cash, but the bartender's substitution leaves Joe without it and draws Garsell to him.

  Joe leaves the disguised package of money with the bartender. The bartender substitutes a nightgown in the package and goes into hiding with the money...

• Capt. Walter Anderson → George Garsell / Mr. Howard (Conflict Police Pursuit) — Anderson's investigation and pursuit culminate in the police gunfight that kills Garsell.

  Captain Anderson pursues Garsell for murder and remains close behind during the final chase. Garsell is killed in an exchange of gunfire with police.

• Joe Norson → George Garsell / Mr. Howard (Conflict Pursuer And Target) — Garsell's pursuit of the stolen cash turns Joe into a target; Joe escapes by deliberately crashing the taxi.

  Garsell is sent to recover the money from Joe, later finds him, and forces him to drive during the final chase.

Story Analysis

A financially desperate mailman steals a large sum, then becomes trapped in a chain of violence while trying to escape its consequences.

Plot Progression

1. A Desperate Theft — Joe loses his gas-station job and takes money from an office on his mail route, believing the amount is small. The discovery that it is $30,000 turns his attempt to help his pregnant wife into a dange...
2. Cash Hidden in Plain Sight — Joe lies to Ellen about the source of his money and leaves it with the bartender in a disguised package. Meanwhile, Anderson investigates a strangled woman's death and questions people connected to he...
3. A Failed Return — After his son is born, Joe tries to give the money back, but the recipient refuses it as a suspected trap. Garsell is sent to recover the cash, and the bartender's substitution leaves Joe exposed.
4. The Net Tightens — Joe confesses the theft to Ellen, who urges him to surrender, but he is also suspected in the bartender's murder. His search for the money leads him to Harriette, who betrays him and is killed by Gars...
5. The Final Chase — Anderson closes in as Garsell forces Joe to drive a taxi through the early-morning streets. Joe crashes the taxi, Garsell dies in a gunfight with police, and Ellen embraces the injured Joe.