Character Relationship Map: Skeleton Coast

Characters

• Colonel Smith (played by Ernest Borgnine) — protagonist
• Captain Simpson (played by Oliver Reed) — supporting
• Elia (played by Herbert Lom) — supporting
• Sekassi (played by Simon Sabela) — supporting
• Rick (played by Daniel Greene) — supporting
• Michael Smith (played by Jonathan Rands) — minor

Canonical Relationships

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

• Colonel Smith → Rick (Professional Employer)

  Colonel Smith hires seven mercenaries and leads them into Angola; Rick is identified as the leader of Smith's private army.

• Colonel Smith → Elia (Professional Information Client)

  Colonel Smith travels to South West Africa and pays Elia for accurate information about Michael's prison location.

• Colonel Smith → Michael Smith (Family Father)

  The plot identifies Colonel Smith as Michael Smith's father and states that he travels to Africa to rescue him.

Story Dynamics

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

• Rick → Sekassi (Alliance Combat Ally)

  Rick leads Smith's private army, and that mercenary group teams up with Sekassi's rebels after entering Angola.

• Colonel Smith → Sekassi (Alliance Rescue Ally)

  After entering Angola, the mercenaries team up with Sekassi and his rebels to support the rescue of Michael Smith.

• Captain Simpson → Rick (Conflict Indirect Opponent)

  Simpson is told that Colonel Smith murdered his security man, while the plot specifies that Rick actually murdered the man.

• Colonel Smith → Captain Simpson (Conflict Suspected Adversary)

  Captain Simpson has a man watch Colonel Smith because he fears the Colonel may be a diamond smuggler.

Story Analysis

A determined father organizes a private military rescue for his captured son amid war, suspicion, deception, and shifting alliances.

Plot Progression

1. Capture Behind Enemy Lines
2. A Father's Private Mission
3. Suspicion At The Mine
4. Counterfeit Trust
5. Into Angola