Character Relationship Map: Waterfront

Characters

• Ann Stacey (played by Gloria Dickson) — supporting

  Ann is Jim's fiancée and later his wife. After Dan's death, she gives Marie money to help Mart escape, hoping to prevent Jim from killing him. She confronts Jim with a gun, locks him in her apartment,...

• Mart Hendler (played by Ward Bond) — supporting

  Mart accidentally kills Dan and then hides with his girlfriend Marie while Jim searches for him. He and Marie plan to leave by ship but lack the money, so Marie obtains help from Ann. At the hideout,...

• Dan Dolen (played by Arthur Gardner) — supporting

  Dan is Jim's brother. Mart accidentally kills him, an event that drives Jim to seek revenge and search for Mart despite his promise to Ann to stop fighting. Dan's death sets the central conflict in mo...

Story Dynamics

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

• Ann Stacey → Mart Hendler (Conflict Hostile Intermediaries) — Ann first attempts to prevent Mart's capture, then becomes endangered by him.

  Ann Stacey gives money intended to help Mart Hendler leave the country, but later reaches his hideout and is knocked unconscious by him.

• Dan Dolen → Mart Hendler (Conflict Fatal Adversaries) — Their encounter creates the central revenge conflict.

  The plot states that Dan Dolen is accidentally killed by Mart Hendler, triggering the protagonist's pursuit of Mart.

Story Analysis

A violent revenge cycle is redirected toward accountability, marriage, and a possible life beyond the waterfront.

Plot Progression

1. A Promise Against Violence — The protagonist meets Ann Stacey and promises to abandon fighting for marriage. Dan Dolen's accidental death at Mart Hendler's hands overturns that promise and starts the revenge pursuit.
2. Money For A Dangerous Escape — Mart hides with his girlfriend and plans to leave by ship, but lacks the necessary money. Ann provides one hundred dollars to help him escape the protagonist's vengeance.
3. The Apartment Trap — The protagonist discovers Ann's intervention and confronts her. A gun, a locked apartment, and a police report turn their conflict into a temporary imprisonment.
4. The Hideout Confrontation — Frankie helps the protagonist escape jail while Ann races to warn Mart. At the hideout, Mart conceals Ann and attempts to evade the approaching danger.
5. Probation And Departure — Mart dies during the hideout confrontation, and Father Dunn argues that the waterfront environment shaped the protagonist's violence. The sentence becomes probation, and Ann leaves with him by train a...