Character Relationship Map: The Clock

Characters

• Corporal Joe Allen (played by Robert Walker) — protagonist

  A small-town soldier on a 48-hour leave who meets Alice, spends the weekend with her, proposes marriage, and navigates military regulations to wed before returning to war.

• Al Henry (played by James Gleason) — supporting

  A milkman who gives Joe and Alice a ride home, suffers a flat tire and gets injured by a drunk, and later allows the couple to deliver his milk route and joins them for breakfast.

• The Drunk (played by Keenan Wynn) — supporting

  An individual who strikes Al Henry while they are at a lunchroom calling for truck assistance, resulting in a black eye for Al.

• Milk Customer (played by Ruby Dandridge) — supporting

Story Dynamics

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

• Corporal Joe Allen → Milk Customer (Social Benefactor And Beneficiaries) — Community members who receive help from the protagonists.
• Corporal Joe Allen → The Drunk (Conflict Protagonist And Aggressor) — Unprovoked aggressor who introduces sudden danger to the journey.
• Corporal Joe Allen → Al Henry (Alliance Passenger And Driver) — Mutually supportive relationship formed during a roadside detour.

Story Analysis

A brief wartime leave becomes a transformative romance shaped by chance, separation, persistence, and departure.

Plot Progression

1. A Chance In The Crowd — A soldier on leave meets a woman at Pennsylvania Station after she breaks her shoe heel. Their improvised sightseeing turns an accidental encounter into a growing attraction.
2. The Clock Appointment — The soldier pursues the departing bus and persuades the woman to meet him under the Astor Hotel clock. Their dinner confirms that the connection is becoming mutual.
3. An Unexpected Night Route — Missing the last bus leads the pair to accept Al Henry's ride. A flat tire, an assault, and a night delivering milk create an unusual shared adventure before breakfast.
4. Separated In New York — The couple plan another day together but become separated in a subway crowd. Their frantic search ends when they return to the place where they first met.
5. Marriage Before Departure — Mutual love leads to a marriage proposal, but regulations and red tape threaten the hurried ceremony. Persistence gets them through the bureaucracy and into a church for private vows.
6. The Leave Ends — The newlyweds spend a honeymoon night and share a final breakfast. At Pennsylvania Station, the soldier departs for war while the woman returns alone to the city.