The Match King (1932) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Kroll convinces Babe to withdraw the stolen money by promising they will flee together to Sweden. However, once he has the money in hand, he simply abandons her and sails alone. This reflects Kroll's core characteristic: he uses people as tools for his advancement and discards them when they no longer serve his ambitions. Babe was merely a means to access the funds he needed for his return to Sweden.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Kroll already demonstrates his pattern of deception by romancing Babe behind his partner's back while simultaneously running the phantom worker scheme.

• babe
• abandonment
• deception
• money
• chicago

Kroll uses a two-pronged approach: he offers desperately needed loans to cash-strapped European governments and bribes corrupt officials to gain exclusive rights to the match industry in each country. He also gathers intelligence by romancing influential women who provide him with valuable information about business opportunities and government contacts. This strategy allows him to consolidate control over Sweden first, then expand into Poland, Germany, and beyond.

Foreshadowing: His success in Chicago with the phantom worker scheme demonstrates his willingness to manipulate systems and people for financial gain.

• monopoly
• europe
• bribery
• loans
• corruption

Christian Hobe, a recluse inventor, creates an everlasting match that could revolutionize the industry and threaten Kroll's monopoly. Rather than competing fairly or acquiring the invention legitimately, Kroll has Hobe committed to a mental institution by portraying him as insane. This eliminates a potential competitor and protects his control over the match market, demonstrating his willingness to destroy anyone who threatens his empire.

Foreshadowing: Kroll's pattern of eliminating rivals appears earlier when he engineers the firing of his fellow worker in Chicago.

• christian hobe
• everlasting match
• institutionalization
• monopoly

When the stock market crash of 1929 cuts off his access to legitimate loans, Kroll purchases $50 million in fake Italian bonds from a forger named Scarlatti. He then arranges for Scarlatti to drown in a lake, eliminating the only person who could expose the fraud. Using these worthless bonds as collateral, he secures a $40 million loan from an American bank. This desperate scheme represents the final major fraud attempt before his empire collapses.

Foreshadowing: The stock market crash of 1929 is mentioned as the event that stops Kroll from obtaining new loans, forcing him toward increasingly desperate measures.

• fake bonds
• scarlatti
• forgery
• loan fraud

Kroll's empire collapses when his forgeries are detected and the American bank cancels the $40 million loan. With his financial fraud exposed, his monopolies crumbling, and his personal ambitions defeated (Marta loves someone else), he sees no way to preserve his position. In a final act of despair, he shoots himself on a balcony, his body falling into the same gutter where his ambitious journey began. The suicide represents the inevitable consequence of a life built entirely on deception.

Foreshadowing: The stock market crash and subsequent loan cancellation foreshadow the complete collapse of his financial infrastructure.

• suicide
• despair
• collapse
• forgery detected

Marta leaves Kroll initially to pursue her acting career in Hollywood, but when she returns to Sweden, she reveals she has fallen in love with Trino, the gypsy violinist Kroll previously hired to serenade her. This rejection stings Kroll deeply because he believed his wealth and power could win anyone. Marta's choice of a simple musician over the powerful magnate underscores his inability to form genuine human connections, everyone in his life is ultimately disposable to him.

Foreshadowing: Kroll hired Trino specifically to impress Marta, showing he values her affection enough to spend extravagantly on her.

• marta molnar
• trino
• gypsy violinist
• rejection

When Kroll's uncle pleads for him to return to Sweden to save the struggling local match factory, Kroll cons a local bank into extending a loan that allows him to buy a second factory. He then merges both factories under his control, using the initial loan as the foundation for his empire. This pattern of leveraging fraudulent financial arrangements continues throughout his rise.

Foreshadowing: The phantom worker scheme in Chicago demonstrates his early ability to manipulate payroll systems for personal gain.

• sweden
• match factory
• uncle
• loan fraud

The collapse is triggered by a combination of factors: the 1929 stock market crash cuts off his access to new loans, his fake bond scheme is detected, and the American bank cancels his $40 million loan. Additionally, Marta's rejection and the loss of his personal ambitions remove his motivation to fight. Without fresh capital and with his fraud exposed, the entire fraudulent structure collapses under its own weight.

Foreshadowing: The timeline explicitly shows the stock market crash as the turning point where his financial manipulations become unsustainable.

• stock market crash
• empire collapse
• loan cancelled
• forgery exposed

Kroll hires Erik Borg, an old friend who already knows the truth about his real achievements in Chicago. Unlike others who believe in his fabricated success story, Borg is aware that Kroll's fortune stems from fraud, not legitimate business. By bringing him into the operation, Kroll ensures he has a trusted confidant who cannot be blackmailed or betrayed, since Borg is complicit in the deception.

Foreshadowing: Erik Borg is the only character introduced who knows Kroll's true origins and early crimes.

• erik borg
• assistant
• trust
• complicity

Kroll systematically romances influential women to gather intelligence and business opportunities. In Chicago, he secretly romances his partner's wife Babe while also deceiving people in Sweden about his success. In Europe, he uses relationships with wealthy and connected women to gather information that helps him secure monopolies. His dinner with Ilse Wagner introduces him to Marta Molnar, showing how social connections serve his ambitions.

Foreshadowing: His pattern of deception with Babe demonstrates his willingness to manipulate romantic relationships for financial gain.

• romance
• intelligence
• gathering
• monopoly
• women