Character Relationship Map: Devil's Doorway

Characters

• Lance Poole (played by Robert Taylor) — protagonist

  Lance Poole is a Shoshone Civil War veteran, Medal of Honor recipient, and landowner who returns to Medicine Bow, Wyoming. After his father dies and Verne Coolan uses a legal loophole to seize their p...

• Verne Coolan (played by Louis Calhern) — supporting

  Verne Coolan is a bigoted attorney in Medicine Bow who opposes Lance Poole and exploits a loophole in the homesteading law to strip him of his valuable land. He later organizes sheepherders to drive L...

• Orrie Masters (played by Paula Raymond) — supporting

  Orrie Masters is a female lawyer whom Lance Poole approaches after Verne Coolan uses the homesteading law against him. She tries to obtain the petition signatures needed to overturn the law but fails,...

Canonical Relationships

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

• Lance Poole → Orrie Masters (Professional Legal Client) — Orrie represents Poole in his attempt to challenge the land seizure legally.

  Poole turns to the female lawyer Orrie Masters for help overturning the law and restoring his property.

Story Dynamics

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

• Orrie Masters → Verne Coolan (Conflict Legal Opponent) — Their opposing legal positions place Masters against Coolan's land seizure strategy.

  Masters tries to obtain signatures to overturn the loophole Coolan used to strip Poole of his property.

• Lance Poole → Verne Coolan (Conflict Adversary) — Their opposition drives the central struggle over land, law, and racial injustice.

  Verne Coolan exploits a homesteading-law loophole to strip Lance Poole of his valuable land, then organizes force against him.

Story Analysis

A decorated veteran confronts racial persecution, legal dispossession, and armed expulsion while defending his community and dignity.

Plot Progression

1. A Veteran Comes Home — Lance Poole returns to Medicine Bow and encounters resentment over his family's valuable land. The refusal of medical treatment for his father and the saloon's rejection establish the town's hostility...
2. The Law Takes His Land — Verne Coolan uses a homesteading-law loophole to dispossess Poole. Poole seeks Orrie Masters's legal help, but her petition campaign cannot obtain the necessary signatures.
3. The Cabin Becomes A Fort — Coolan organizes sheepherders to expel Poole by force. Shoshone tribesmen defend Poole from his cabin, transforming the property dispute into an armed resistance.
4. A Broken Cavalry Truce — Masters summons the U.S. Cavalry to create a truce. Instead, the cavalry sides with Coolan and the town, leaving Poole's barricade surrounded.
5. The Final Salute — Poole kills Coolan but is seriously wounded. He sends the surviving women and children away, receives a salute as a Medal of Honor recipient, and dies from his wounds.