Character Relationship Map: Convict 13

Characters

• Golfer Turned Prisoner, Guard (played by Buster Keaton) — protagonist

  The central figure is a golfer who is mistaken for an escaped convict after a clothing switch leaves him wearing prison clothes. He is jailed, survives a staged hanging, escapes in a guard's uniform,...

• The Crazed Prisoner (played by Joe Roberts) — supporting

  The rowdy inmate is the prison's most immediate physical threat. He knocks out guards during the yard revolt, mistakes the escaping protagonist for another guard, bends through a locked gate to pursue...

• Prisoner (played by Joe Keaton) — supporting

  An escaped convict triggers the mistaken-identity plot by reaching the golf course, switching clothes with the unconscious golfer, and leaving him exposed to pursuing guards. His escape indirectly sen...

• Hangman (played by Edward F. Cline) — supporting

  The execution official presides over the protagonist's scheduled hanging after the prison clothes identify him as a condemned prisoner. The girlfriend has secretly replaced the noose with an elastic r...

Story Dynamics

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

• Hangman → Golfer Turned Prisoner, Guard (Conflict Executioner) — The hangman carries out the scheduled execution, but the golfer survives because the noose has been replaced with an elastic rope.

  The golfer is identified as Convict 13 and is scheduled to be hanged; the hangman presides as the trapdoor opens.

• The Crazed Prisoner → Golfer Turned Prisoner, Guard (Conflict Adversary) — The crazed prisoner repeatedly threatens the golfer, who first restrains him with the elastic noose and later stops his riot with a swinging punching bag.

  The crazed prisoner mistakes the escaping golfer for a guard, pursues him through the prison, and later knocks him out and kidnaps his girlfriend duri...

• Prisoner → Golfer Turned Prisoner, Guard (Conflict Identity Switch) — The prisoner's clothing switch sets the mistaken-identity plot in motion and sends the golfer to jail in his place.

  After the golfer knocks himself unconscious, the escaped prisoner switches clothes with him. The guards then pursue the golfer, who is mistaken for th...

Story Analysis

A golfer's accidental clothing swap turns a golf-course mishap into a comic prison nightmare that ends when he wakes from the dream.

Plot Progression

1. The Golf Course Mix-Up — A disastrous golf game leads to a ball-retrieval mishap that leaves the golfer unconscious. An escaped convict switches clothes with him, setting up the mistaken identity.
2. Convict 13 Faces the Gallows — The golfer is captured in the convict's clothes and taken to prison. Identified as Convict 13, he survives his scheduled hanging because the noose has been replaced by an elastic rope.
3. Flight Through the Prison Yard — The golfer takes a guard's uniform while trying to escape, as a rowdy prisoner leads a revolt. Their paths cross, and the crazed prisoner pursues the golfer until he is tied up with the elastic rope.
4. The Riot and the Awakening — After being promoted, the golfer faces a renewed riot and the crazed prisoner's attack. He defeats the rioting inmates with a swinging punching bag, then wakes beside the golf-course shed and discover...