Character Relationship Map: Flaxy Martin

Characters

• Flaxy Martin (played by Virginia Mayo) — protagonist

  Flaxy Martin is a showgirl who dates Walter Colby while secretly having an affair with Hap Richie. She arranges Peggy Farrar’s testimony, quarrels with Peggy before the murder, and is framed for the k...

• Walter Colby (played by Zachary Scott) — protagonist

  Walter Colby is a mob attorney who wants to leave Hap Richie’s organization and become respectable. He protects Flaxy Martin by falsely confessing to Peggy Farrar’s murder, escapes after conviction, i...

• Nora Carson (played by Dorothy Malone) — supporting

  Nora Carson is a motorist who finds the injured Walter Colby, takes him home, and nurses him despite his selfishness and ingratitude. She helps him evade the manhunt but refuses to flee permanently, i...

• Sam Malko (played by Tom D'Andrea) — supporting

  Sam Malko is a former client of Walter Colby who feels indebted to him. Before Colby’s transfer to prison, Sam reports that Caesar has been drunk and boasting about Colby’s conviction. Sam later assis...

• Peggy Farrar (played by Helen Westcott) — supporting

  Peggy Farrar is a perjurer arranged through Flaxy Martin to testify for Caesar and clear him of a crime. Afterward, she attempts to blackmail Hap Richie for $10,000 in exchange for silence. Her confro...

• Hap Richie (played by Douglas Kennedy) — supporting

  Hap Richie is a crime boss who summons Walter Colby to arrange Caesar’s bail and secretly carries on an affair with Flaxy Martin. He uses Flaxy to arrange Peggy Farrar’s testimony and later supports f...

• Roper (played by Elisha Cook Jr.) — supporting

  Roper is Caesar’s hood and becomes Walter Colby’s armed pursuer after Colby returns to the city. He confronts Colby at Caesar’s location, and the two fight violently on a rooftop. Colby finally forces...

• Caesar (played by Jack Overman) — minor

  Caesar is Hap Richie’s hood whose bail Walter Colby arranges after a murder. Peggy Farrar’s testimony clears him, but he later kills Peggy and boasts while drunk that Colby was convicted instead. When...

Canonical Relationships

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

• Walter Colby → Caesar (Professional Attorney And Client) — Walter initially represents Caesar and later becomes his intended accuser.

  Walter arranges bail for Caesar and later confesses to Peggy's murder in an attempt to clear Flaxy of the accusation.

• Hap Richie → Caesar (Power Criminal Leader) — Hap exercises authority over Caesar through the criminal organization.

  Hap calls Walter to arrange bail for Caesar, who is identified as Hap's hood.

• Walter Colby → Hap Richie (Professional Criminal Associate) — Walter works as Hap's attorney before attempting to leave the organization.

  Hap calls Walter during the night to arrange bail for Caesar. Walter is described as a mob attorney serving Hap's organization.

• Flaxy Martin → Hap Richie (Romantic Lovers) — Flaxy and Hap maintain a secret affair within the criminal organization.

  Flaxy is two-timing Walter with Hap, and Hap uses Flaxy to arrange Peggy's testimony.

• Flaxy Martin → Walter Colby (Romantic Girlfriend) — Their relationship is romantic but strained by money, crime, and mutual distrust.

  Walter tells Flaxy that he wants to leave the criminal organization and become respectable. The plot explicitly identifies Flaxy as his girlfriend.

Story Dynamics

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

• Walter Colby → Roper (Conflict Pursuer And Opponent) — Roper becomes Walter's immediate physical pursuer and adversary.

  Walter finds Caesar dead and faces Roper at gunpoint. They fight on a rooftop, where Walter forces Roper over the edge to his death.

• Walter Colby → Nora Carson (Alliance Rescuer And Dependent) — Nora protects Walter despite his self-centeredness and lack of gratitude.

  Nora finds Walter injured after his train escape, takes him home, and nurses him while they evade the statewide manhunt.

• Sam Malko → Caesar (Narrative Informant Connection) — Sam provides Walter with information about Caesar's confession-like boasts.

  Sam tells Walter that Caesar has been getting drunk and bragging that Walter was convicted instead of him.

• Sam Malko → Walter Colby (Social Former Client And Benefactor) — Sam repays Walter by delivering information and later advising him.

  Sam, a former client, visits Walter before his prison transfer because he feels he owes Walter a good turn.

• Caesar → Peggy Farrar (Conflict Murderer) — Caesar eliminates Peggy to suppress the blackmail threat.

  Caesar silently appears at Peggy's hotel apartment and kills her, leaving Flaxy accused of the crime.

• Flaxy Martin → Peggy Farrar (Conflict Enemy) — Their hostility escalates from confrontation to Peggy's murder and Flaxy's accusation.

  Flaxy loudly attacks Peggy at Peggy's hotel apartment after Peggy attempts to blackmail Hap.

• Hap Richie → Peggy Farrar (Alliance Co-conspirators) — Hap relies on Peggy's perjury to protect Caesar.

  Hap arranges through Flaxy for Peggy to give false testimony clearing Caesar.

Story Analysis

A criminal attorney's attempt to escape organized crime collapses through betrayal, false testimony, violence, and a final choice to surrender.

Plot Progression

1. Crime Beneath Respectability — Walter works as Hap's mob attorney while secretly wishing to leave the organization. His relationship with Flaxy is destabilized by money and her affair with Hap.
2. Perjury And Murder — Hap uses Flaxy to arrange Peggy's false testimony for Caesar. Peggy's blackmail and Flaxy's confrontation are followed by Peggy's murder, which places suspicion on Flaxy.
3. The False Confession — Walter tries to save Flaxy by confessing to the murder himself. A perjured witness defeats his plan, and Walter receives a twenty-year sentence.
4. Flight And Reckoning — Sam reveals Caesar's boasts, prompting Walter's escape from the prison train. Nora shelters him, but Walter returns to the city and confronts the criminal network.
5. Guns, Betrayal, And Surrender — Walter survives Roper's pursuit and confronts Flaxy and Hap. Hap is killed, Flaxy is arrested, and Walter finally abandons his fugitive plan to surrender.