Character Relationship Map: Big Trouble

Characters

• Leonard Hoffman (played by Alan Arkin) — protagonist

  Leonard Hoffman is a Los Angeles insurance agent and the central figure facing a serious financial problem. His teenage triplets are gifted musicians, while his wife Arlene wants them to attend Yale....

• Blanche Rickey (played by Beverly D'Angelo) — protagonist

  Blanche Rickey is Steve Rickey's wife, who meets Leonard during his visit to their Beverly Hills mansion. She explains that Steve is dying and that his life insurance has lapsed, then helps develop a...

• Steve Rickey (played by Peter Falk) — supporting

  Steve Rickey is Blanche Rickey's husband and is dying, with less than a week to live. He has inadvertently allowed his life insurance policy to lapse, creating the crisis discussed with Leonard. For t...

• O'Mara (played by Charles Durning) — supporting

  O'Mara is an insurance investigator who joins Leonard in pursuing the suspicious claim connected to Blanche and Steve Rickey. Their inquiry encounters obstacles: the body needed for examination has al...

• Joshua Hoffman (played by Paul La Greca) — supporting

  Joshua Hoffman is one of Leonard and Arlene Hoffman's teenage triplets. He is part of the group described as gifted musicians whose education is central to the family's financial dilemma. Arlene favor...

Canonical Relationships

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

• Leonard Hoffman → O'Mara (Professional Investigation Partners) — Leonard and O'Mara investigate the insurance claim together, encountering a buried body and apparent attempts to cover tracks.

  The plot states that Leonard and insurance investigator O'Mara pursue the suspicious case.

• Blanche Rickey → Steve Rickey (Family Wife And Husband) — Blanche's insurance predicament with her husband draws Leonard into a suspicious scheme built around Steve's supposed death.

  The plot identifies Blanche as Steve's wife and describes her involvement in a plan concerning his supposed death and insurance.

• Leonard Hoffman → Joshua Hoffman (Family Father And Son) — Leonard worries about paying for Joshua and his brothers to attend Yale for music, while Joshua reassures him that their affection does not depend on the opportunity.

  The plot identifies Joshua as one of Leonard's triplet sons. Joshua and his brothers tell Leonard they understand the financial problem and will still...

Story Dynamics

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

• Leonard Hoffman → Steve Rickey (Conflict Insurance Scheme Associates) — Leonard's investigation of the claim puts him in opposition to the apparent efforts to stage the death and conceal evidence.

  The plot connects Steve to a plan involving a supposed death on a train and says Leonard pursues the suspicious insurance case.

• Leonard Hoffman → Blanche Rickey (Alliance Insurance Scheme Associates) — Blanche brings Leonard into an insurance scheme involving Steve's supposed death and a five-million-dollar claim.

  Blanche secretly arranges to meet Leonard, and the plot says Leonard becomes involved in the suspicious insurance matter concerning her and Steve.

Story Analysis

Financial pressure draws Leonard into a suspicious insurance case and, after a humiliating rejection, an unfinished attempt to rob an office safe.

Plot Progression

1. A Family's Yale Ambition — Leonard faces financial pressure as he tries to send his gifted triplet sons to Yale for music. When the scholarship falls through, his sons reassure him that they understand.
2. The Rickey Insurance Scheme — Blanche secretly meets Leonard about Steve and a suspicious insurance matter. A train-death plan and a five-million-dollar claim raise questions about the supposed victim.
3. An Investigation Obstructed — Leonard and O'Mara pursue the claim but find that the body needed for examination has already been buried. Apparent efforts to cover tracks deepen the uncertainty.
4. Insult Turns to Theft — After Leonard and his companion are thrown out of a wealthy man's birthday gathering, Leonard decides to rob the man's office instead of his home. They enter the building and find an electronic safe.
5. The Unopened Safe — Leonard and his companion try to work out how to open the electronic safe. Leonard remains determined, but the account ends before the robbery or the insurance case is resolved.