Character Relationship Map: Trog

Characters

• Dr. Brockton (played by Joan Crawford) — protagonist

  Dr. Brockton is a renowned anthropologist and the film’s central human protagonist. She rescues Trog from the caves, studies him, teaches him social behavior, and uses surgery and hypnosis to develop...

• Sam Murdock (played by Michael Gough) — protagonist

  Sam Murdock is a local businessman who opposes Dr. Brockton’s attempt to keep Trog in the town. He fears that the creature will damage local commerce and distrusts a woman leading a research facility....

• Trog (played by Joe Cornelius) — minor

  Trog is the surviving male troglodyte and the film’s central subject. Dr. Brockton brings him from the caves, studies him, teaches him to play and share, and helps induce language and memories. After...

• Reporter (played by Maurice Good) — minor

  The Reporter is an on-site news reporter who approaches Dr. Brockton after Trog’s death. He asks her to comment on the destruction of the missing link, but Brockton pushes his microphone aside and wal...

• Little Girl (played by Chloe Franks) — minor

  The Little Girl is a child taken from a playground by Trog after he wanders into town. He carries her back to his cave, prompting Dr. Brockton, the police, and army personnel to confront him. Brockton...

Canonical Relationships

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

• Reporter → Dr. Brockton (Professional Interviewer) — The reporter seeks Brockton's public response after Trog's death.

  At the end, the on-site reporter asks Brockton to comment on the death of the missing link.

• Dr. Brockton → Trog (Professional Researcher And Subject) — Brockton treats Trog as a major scientific discovery while attempting to understand him.

  Dr. Brockton brings Trog to her laboratory for study and conducts experiments intended to induce language and recover his distant memories.

Story Dynamics

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

• Reporter → Trog (Narrative News Subject) — Trog becomes the central subject of the closing news inquiry.

  The reporter asks Brockton to comment specifically on Trog's death as the missing link.

• Trog → Little Girl (Conflict Captor) — Trog's abduction of the girl triggers the final confrontation.

  Trog snatches the little girl from a playground and takes her to his cave.

• Dr. Brockton → Little Girl (Alliance Rescuer) — Brockton personally risks herself to recover the child safely.

  Brockton enters Trog's cave after the girl is taken, reprimands Trog, and persuades him to surrender the girl.

• Sam Murdock → Trog (Conflict Enemy) — Murdock deliberately creates the circumstances that lead to his fatal confrontation with Trog.

  Murdock releases Trog at night so that local residents or armed authorities might confront and kill him; Trog later beats Murdock to death.

• Dr. Brockton → Sam Murdock (Conflict Scientific Opponent) — Their disagreement places scientific protection against commercial fear and social prejudice.

  Murdock opposes the presence of the creature in town, questions the consequences for local business, and is suspicious of Brockton leading a research...

Story Analysis

A scientist tries to protect a prehistoric human from fear, exploitation, and violent institutional control.

Plot Progression

1. Discovery Beneath the Hills — Dr. Brockton discovers that a living male troglodyte may survive in the countryside caves. She brings him to the surface and tranquilizes him despite the panic of townspeople and police.
2. Science Meets Suspicion — Brockton studies Trog in her laboratory and begins teaching him social behavior. Sam Murdock opposes the creature's presence because of commercial fears and hostility toward Brockton's leadership.
3. Memory And Legal Protection — Surgeries and a hypnotic device reveal Trog's capacity for language and visions of his distant past. A municipal court protects him, intensifying Murdock's anger.
4. The Unleashed Rampage — Murdock releases Trog at night, expecting him to be killed by the town or authorities. Trog kills several people, including Murdock, and abducts a little girl.
5. A Tragic Scientific End — Brockton enters the cave and persuades Trog to release the girl. Although the child escapes, soldiers destroy the cave, kill Trog, and leave Brockton unwilling to comment to the press.