Character Relationship Map: Copacabana

Characters

• Carmen Novarro / Mlle. Fifi (played by Carmen Miranda) — supporting

  Carmen Novarro is Lionel's Brazilian singer girlfriend and longtime fiancée, whose genuine talent makes her the act's main attraction. At Lionel's urging, she secretly performs as the veiled Parisian...

• Steve Hunt (played by Steve Cochran) — supporting

  Steve Hunt is the producer of the Copacabana nightclub who is pressured into auditioning Carmen and the supposedly separate Mlle. Fifi. He is attracted to both identities and initially asks Fifi out,...

• Anne Stuart (played by Gloria Jean) — supporting

  Anne Stuart is Steve Hunt's secretary and is in love with him. She resents Steve's attention to the mysterious Mlle. Fifi, whose presence seems to prevent Anne from winning his affection. Anne later t...

Canonical Relationships

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

• Steve Hunt → Anne Stuart (Romantic Love Interests) — Anne's jealousy over Steve's attention to Fifi is resolved when Steve admits his real feelings for her.

  Anne is in love with Steve and resents his attention to Fifi. Steve later confesses that his interest in Fifi was business-related and that he is real...

• Carmen Novarro / Mlle. Fifi → Steve Hunt (Professional Performer And Producer) — Carmen's double performance draws Steve's interest, though his later confession reveals that his interest in Fifi was business-related.

  Steve auditions and hires both Carmen and the supposedly separate Fifi for the Copacabana. He is attracted to the two identities and asks Fifi out.

Story Dynamics

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

• Carmen Novarro / Mlle. Fifi → Anne Stuart (Alliance Allies) — Carmen and Lionel use the two-persona illusion to help Anne by removing Fifi from Steve's attention.

  Anne tells Carmen that Fifi's attention from Steve is making it impossible for Anne to win his affection. Lionel and Carmen then stage a fight between...

Story Analysis

An unsuccessful performer invents a second identity for his talented fiancée, and their deception spirals into a false murder scandal before becoming a film story.

Plot Progression

1. A Deadline and a New Act — Lionel and Carmen face a 24-hour hotel-bill deadline. Lionel rebrands Carmen as his client and invents the identity of Mlle. Fifi to secure a nightclub audition.
2. Two Identities at the Copa — Steve hires both Carmen and the supposedly separate Fifi. Carmen's rapid costume changes preserve the deception, while Steve's interest in Fifi complicates the personal dynamics.
3. A Contract and a Suspicion — Lionel sells Fifi's contract to his rival Liggett, unaware of the larger opportunity attached to the identity. Liggett notices the connection between veiled Fifi and Carmen, while Anne explains how Fi...
4. The Disappearance Backfires — Lionel and Carmen stage a fight that makes Fifi disappear, and Lionel reports that she has been found dead. His words are overheard, leading to his arrest and failed attempts to persuade the investiga...
5. The Unmasking and the Film — Steve tells Anne that he truly loves her, and Carmen removes Fifi's veil to reveal the deception. The story becomes a film, with Lionel claiming credit for much of its production.