Character Relationship Map: Oscar

Characters

• Angelo "Snaps" Provolone (played by Sylvester Stallone) — protagonist

  Protagonist; a 1931 gangster who promises his dying father Eduardo to give up crime and go straight, turning his gang into house assistants. He seeks an honest post on a bank board, manages the chaos...

• Lisa Provolone (played by Marisa Tomei) — protagonist

  Spoiled only child of Snaps and Sofia, dreaming of seeing the world but blocked by her overprotective father. At maid Nora's suggestion, she lies that she is pregnant, naming chauffeur Oscar as the fa...

• Anthony Rossano (played by Vincent Spano) — supporting

  Snaps' young, good-natured accountant who embezzles $50,000 through creative accounting and invests it in emeralds as a proposal gift for the woman he loves, Theresa. He is tricked into agreeing to ma...

• Sofia Provolone (played by Ornella Muti) — supporting

  Snaps' wife and Lisa's mother. While unaware of Lisa's lie, she insists Snaps find a suitable man to serve as a father for Lisa's alleged baby, which pushes Snaps to trick Anthony into agreeing to mar...

• Dr. Thornton Poole (played by Tim Curry) — supporting

  Snaps' dialectician. Anthony falsely tells Lisa that Poole is in love with her to escape marrying her himself. Despite the manipulative setup, Poole turns out to be genuinely well-matched with Lisa, a...

• Eduardo Provolone (played by Kirk Douglas) — supporting

  Snaps' dying father. His request that Angelo give up crime sets the entire story in motion, as Snaps promises to go straight and later struggles to honor that promise; Eduardo's wishes remain the stan...

• Roxanne (played by Linda Gray) — cameo
• Nora (played by Joycelyn O'Brien) — cameo
• Lt. Toomey, Chicago PD (played by Kurtwood Smith) — cameo

Canonical Relationships

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

• Angelo "Snaps" Provolone → Roxanne (Romantic Former Lovers) — Roxanne's arrival reveals a concealed part of Snaps's past and changes his understanding of his family.

  Roxanne is described as an old flame of Snaps's, and she tells him she was once pregnant with his child.

• Lisa Provolone → Dr. Thornton Poole (Romantic Partners) — Their shared interest in travel develops into genuine affection and a marriage announcement.

  Poole turns out to be a suitable match for Lisa, and the two announce that they are getting married after falling in love.

• Angelo "Snaps" Provolone → Sofia Provolone (Family Husband And Wife) — Sofia's demand that Snaps address Lisa's alleged pregnancy adds pressure to his efforts to manage the household.

  Sofia is identified as Snaps's wife.

• Sofia Provolone → Lisa Provolone (Family Mother And Daughter) — Sofia presses Snaps to find a man to serve as a father to Lisa's alleged baby.

  Sofia is identified as Lisa's mother.

• Angelo "Snaps" Provolone → Lisa Provolone (Family Father And Daughter) — Snaps's overprotectiveness and his response to Lisa's false pregnancy shape the household's central confusion.

  Lisa is identified as Snaps's only child, and he reacts to her claim that she is pregnant.

• Angelo "Snaps" Provolone → Eduardo Provolone (Family Father And Son) — Eduardo's request sets Snaps's attempt to leave his criminal life in motion.

  Snaps promises his dying father Eduardo that he will give up crime and go straight.

• Angelo "Snaps" Provolone → Anthony Rossano (Professional Employer And Accountant) — Anthony's accounting scheme and intended marriage to Lisa pull Snaps into the escalating household confusion.

  Anthony is Snaps's accountant and arrives at the mansion to discuss a raise, his stolen money, and his intended proposal.

Story Dynamics

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

• Lisa Provolone → Nora (Social Confidante And Adviser) — Nora's advice directly prompts the false pregnancy that fuels the household's confusion.

  At Nora's suggestion, Lisa lies to her parents that she is pregnant to try to move out.

• Angelo "Snaps" Provolone → Lt. Toomey, Chicago PD (Conflict Suspected Criminal And Investigator) — Toomey's suspicions bring the police to the mansion, where he finds no money or gangsters and leaves embarrassed.

  Toomey watches Snaps's mansion because he believes Snaps is meeting with Chicago mobsters, then arrives with police officers to investigate.

• Anthony Rossano → Lisa Provolone (Conflict Unwanted Marriage Arrangement) — Their proposed marriage is a consequence of Snaps's deception, not a mutual romance.

  Snaps tricks Anthony into agreeing to marry Lisa, but Anthony does not want to marry her and later tells her about Poole.

Story Analysis

Snaps's promise to go straight collides with family deception, financial schemes, mistaken suspicions, and his eventual rejection of respectable banking.

Plot Progression

1. A Promise Meets the Household — After promising Eduardo to abandon crime, Snaps plans an honest position with a bank. Anthony's financial confession and Lisa's false pregnancy disrupt his plans and create competing marriage expectat...
2. Mistaken Matches and Watchers — Snaps pressures Anthony into agreeing to marry Lisa, while Anthony points Lisa toward Poole. Toomey and Vendetti independently suspect criminal activity at the mansion, and confusion over identical ba...
3. Jewels and Reconciliation — Anthony pays to recover the jewels, then returns them after recognizing that money cannot replace his feelings for Theresa. Snaps helps them reconcile, while Lisa and Poole discover a genuine connecti...
4. The Honest Deal Unravels — Roxanne's arrival reveals a concealed connection to Snaps's past. The bankers offer no real influence, and Toomey's investigation finds no criminal gathering at the mansion.
5. Crime and Wedding Bells — Vendetti's car crashes outside, allowing Toomey to arrest the armed men. Snaps abandons his brief attempt at respectability, and the story ends with a double wedding despite Oscar's objection.