Character Relationship Map: Cry Terror!

Characters

• Jim Molner (played by James Mason) — protagonist

  Jim Molner is an electronics expert who unwittingly designs the sophisticated miniature explosive device used in Paul Hoplin's blackmail scheme. He is taken hostage with his wife, Joan Molner, and the...

• Joan Molner (played by Inger Stevens) — supporting

  Joan Molner is Jim Molner's wife and Patty Molner's mother, held hostage by Paul Hoplin's gang. Forced to collect and deliver the ransom alone, she kills Steve while defending herself from his assault...

• Paul Hoplin (played by Rod Steiger) — supporting

  Paul Hoplin is the criminal mastermind behind an elaborate blackmail operation. He threatens to destroy a crowded airline, exploits Jim Molner's device, and holds Jim Molner's family hostage for ranso...

• Eileen Kelly (played by Angie Dickinson) — supporting

  Eileen Kelly is the gang's beautiful but hardened young mistress and an accomplice of Paul Hoplin. She helps guard Jim Molner and Patty Molner in a mid-town penthouse while Joan Molner retrieves the r...

• Steve (played by Neville Brand) — supporting

  Steve is Paul Hoplin's muscle, described as a benzedrine-addicted ex-con with a history of sexual assaults on women. He helps control the hostage operation and is left alone with Joan Molner at a hide...

• Patty Molner (played by Terry Ann Ross) — supporting

  Patty Molner is the young daughter of Jim Molner and Joan Molner. She is taken hostage with her parents by Paul Hoplin's gang and guarded alongside Jim Molner during the ransom operation. Joan Molner...

• Vince (played by Jack Klugman) — supporting

  Vince is a yes-man among Paul Hoplin's accomplices. He helps guard Jim Molner and Patty Molner in the mid-town penthouse while Joan Molner is forced to collect the ransom. After the gang relocates, Vi...

• Airline Executive (played by Jonathan Hole) — minor

Canonical Relationships

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

• Paul Hoplin → Steve (Power Gang Leader) — Steve serves as Hoplin's violent enforcer during the ransom operation.

  Steve is described as the gang's muscle and hides with Hoplin in the Riverdale house.

• Paul Hoplin → Vince (Power Gang Leader) — Vince functions as a subordinate participant in Hoplin's kidnapping operation.

  Vince is identified as one of Hoplin's accomplices and helps guard the hostages.

• Paul Hoplin → Eileen Kelly (Power Gang Leader) — Kelly operates under Hoplin's criminal plan as a member of his gang.

  Kelly is described as one of Hoplin's accomplices and guards Jim and Patty in the penthouse apartment.

• Paul Hoplin → Jim Molner (Professional Exploitative Collaborator) — Hoplin exploits Jim's technical work for his blackmail operation without Jim's consent.

  Hoplin uses an explosive device that electronics expert Jim Molner unwittingly designed for him.

• Joan Molner → Patty Molner (Family Mother) — Joan's maternal bond with Patty drives her dangerous attempt to deliver the ransom.

  Joan is held with her husband and young daughter Patty, and she collects the ransom to protect them.

• Jim Molner → Patty Molner (Family Father) — Jim is Patty's father and is held with her during the extortion plot.

  Jim is taken hostage with his wife Joan and their young daughter Patty.

• Jim Molner → Joan Molner (Family Spouses) — Jim and Joan are married and are jointly targeted by Hoplin's kidnapping scheme.

  The plot identifies Joan as Jim Molner's wife, and the kidnappers hold them together as a family.

Story Dynamics

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

• Paul Hoplin → Airline Executive (Conflict Extortionist) — Hoplin uses the airline executive's organization as the target of his blackmail scheme.

  Hoplin calls 20th Century Airlines and threatens that a bomb is aboard one of its flights, demanding ransom.

• Joan Molner → Steve (Conflict Self-Defense Adversaries) — Steve's assault forces Joan into a violent act of self-defense.

  After Joan reaches the Riverdale hideout, Steve is left alone with her and assaults her; she kills him with a shard of broken glass.

• Vince → Patty Molner (Conflict Hostage Guard) — Vince directly participates in holding Patty hostage.

  Vince guards Patty with Kelly in the penthouse apartment.

• Eileen Kelly → Jim Molner (Conflict Hostage Guard) — Kelly helps maintain Jim's captivity.

  Kelly guards Jim in the penthouse apartment while Joan is forced to collect the ransom.

• Eileen Kelly → Vince (Alliance Criminal Associates) — Kelly and Vince cooperate as guards within Hoplin's gang.

  Kelly and Vince jointly guard Jim Molner and Patty in a midtown penthouse apartment.

• Paul Hoplin → Patty Molner (Conflict Kidnapper) — Patty is a hostage whose safety is central to Hoplin's extortion.

  Patty is taken hostage with Jim and Joan, and Hoplin uses the family's lives as leverage for the ransom.

• Paul Hoplin → Joan Molner (Conflict Kidnapper) — Hoplin controls Joan through threats against her family.

  Hoplin and his gang take Joan, her husband, and their daughter hostage, then force Joan to collect the ransom.

Story Analysis

A criminal blackmail operation turns a technical invention and a hostage family into a deadly struggle for survival.

Plot Progression

1. The Bombing Ruse — Paul Hoplin exploits an explosive device designed by Jim Molner and uses a false airline bomb threat to demonstrate his reach. The initial incident becomes the foundation for a more dangerous ransom d...
2. A Family Held Hostage — Hoplin's gang takes Jim, Joan, and Patty hostage. A second threat forces Joan to carry the ransom while Kelly and Vince guard the remaining hostages.
3. Joan's Violent Test — Joan reaches the Riverdale hideout with the money but is left alone with Steve. She survives his assault by killing him with broken glass, after which the hostages are moved.
4. The Net Tightens — Joan confirms by telephone that Jim and Patty are alive. Kelly is identified through dental records, and the gang's apartment operation collapses in a shootout.
5. The Subway Reckoning — Joan escapes and reaches a subway station, where Hoplin pursues her onto the tracks. Hoplin is electrocuted by the third rail, and Joan survives when the train stops in time.