Melvin and Howard

Plot synopsis:
In the opening scene, Howard Hughes loses control of his motorcycle and crashes in the Nevada desert. That night, he is discovered lying on the side of a stretch of U.S. Highway 95 when Melvin Dummar stops his pickup truck so he can relieve himself. The disheveled stranger, refusing to allow Melvin to take him to the hospital, asks him to instead drive him to Las Vegas. En route, the two engage in stilted conversation until Dummar cajoles his passenger into joining him in singing a Christmas song he wrote. Hughes then suggests they sing his favorite song "Bye Bye Blackbird", and they do. The man warms up to his rescuer and before he is dropped off at the Desert Inn (which Hughes owns and therein resides), he identifies himself as the reclusive billionaire.
Most of the remainder of the film focuses on Melvin's scattered, up-and-down life, his spendthrift, trust-in-luck nature, his rocky marital life with first wife Lynda, and his more stable relationship with second wife Bonnie. Lynda leaves him and their daughter to dance in a sleazy strip club, but eventually returns, but she remains frustrated by her husband's futile efforts to achieve the American dream. Melvin convinces her to appear on Easy Street, a game show hybrid of The Gong Show and Let's Make a Deal, and although her tapdancing initially is booed by the audience, she wins them over and nabs the top prize of living room furniture, a piano, and $10,000 cash.
Melvin agrees to invest in an affordable house in a new development, but while Lynda tries to keep their finances under control, he rashly buys a new car and a boat, prompting her to take their daughter and toddler son and sue for divorce. Melvin is comforted by Bonnie, the payroll clerk at the dairy where he drives a truck, and the two eventually wed and move to Utah, where they take over the operation of a service station her relatives had owned.
One day, a mysterious man in a limousine stops at the station ostensibly to buy a pack of cigarettes, but after he drives off Melvin discovers an envelope marked "Last Will and Testament of Howard Hughes" on his office desk. Afraid to open it, he takes it to Mormon headquarters and secrets it in a pile of incoming mail. It doesn't take long for the media to descend upon him and his family, and eventually Melvin finds himself in court, admitting he once met Hughes but vigorously denying he forged the will that finally fulfills his dreams.

Tags: cult

Review:
Director Demme and writer Goldman take a footnote to history -- a contested Howard Hughes will that named Melvin Dummar, a milkman who once loaned him a quarter, as one of his heirs -- and turn that slight material into a wry meditation on the American Dream.
The performances are terrific, especially Paul Le Mat as Dummar (whatever happened to Le Mat?) and Mary Steenburgen who won an Oscar for playing his wife.
Jason Robards does one of his patented cameos playing a real life character (his Howard Hughes makes a neat hat trick with his Oscar winning performances as Dashiell Hammett and Ben Bradley.)  Watch for the real-life Melvin Dummar as the counterman in the bus station where Steenburgen makes a sandwich for her daughter.
Here's a strange tale of a couple and their on-and-off again marriage and the stupid things they do.....and the eventual flak over money billionaire Howard Hughes supposedly left the man.Paul LaMat plays the husband and supposed beneficiary.
Then again, his last years on this earth were a bit strange!It's a fictional story but those of us who remember, there WAS a lot of flak over the will of Howard Hughes.
In this day of $100 million plus movies with special effects that drown out the dialog and stars with out-sized egos and paychecks to match, a film like Jonathan Demme's minor masterwork, "Melvin and Howard," would be lucky to get a video distributor.
Based on a story that may or may not have been true, "Melvin and Howard" spins the tale of an easy going hard luck kinda guy named Melvin Dummar who gives a lift to an old man he finds asleep in the desert.
The man says that he is Howard Hughes, and, years later, when Hughes dies, Melvin finds a will that has been left on his filling station desk that names him as one of the heirs to the Hughes fortune.
Since we know the ending before the film starts, the pleasures lie in the quirky characters and situations that screenwriter Bo Goldman and a terrific cast have created.
Despite the circus that surrounded the question of the will's validity, Melvin was content just knowing that, during their drive, Howard Hughes had sung a song that Melvin had written.
Winning combination of scattershot comedy and wry, wistful drama tells the (alleged) true story of a milkman with big dreams and no money who is curiously named a recipient in the will of multi-millionaire Howard Hughes.
Melvin Dummar (played by Paul LeMat, in a terrific performance) had been saying all along he once helped out an old guy in the desert near Las Vegas who claimed he was Hughes, but Dummar didn't really believe him (they had a nice chat anyway, and Melvin got Howard to sing one of his self-written novelty songs as well as "Bye Bye Blackbird").
Good-natured film directed by Jonathan Demme rarely loses its way, and features an endearing collection of screwballs who make the loopy craziness of the situations and dialogue immediate and real--their eccentricities are the roots of the story.
Mary Steenburgen won a Supporting Oscar as Dummar's first wife, a dreamer like Melvin who is far less satisfied with struggling and who just wants to amount to something (but to Melvin, the struggles are the best part).
Jason Robards is perfect as Hughes; the normally bombastic actor takes a small role and lets it bloom subtly and beautifully for us, giving the movie a misty hue and making all of Melvin's hopes sweetly credible.
It's a true american classic involving a down on his luck man (Paul Le Mat, so great as Milner in "American Graffiti") who gives a ride to an injured hitchhiker in the desert that turns out to be none other than Howard Hughes (Jason Robards, who is brilliant in a small, understated performance).
The only problem is that there is no will to be found.Mary Steenburgen won as Oscar as Melvin's kooky first wife.
This is a sweet and very funny slice of life movie directed by Jonathan Demme who went on to many fine films such as "Silence of the Lambs." This is a true classic.
The scene in which the character of Melvin picks up Jason Robards, playing Howard Hughes, in the desert.
What helps the film, too, is the pairing of actors Paul LeMat as Melvin, and Mary Steenburgen as Melvin's wife, Linda -- they are an endearing couple.
I attribute the film's memorable tone and spirit to not only the actors (including Jason Robards & some of the supporting cast) -- I like to believe that director, Jonathan Demme, put his stamp on this, too.
Howard Hughes sang Melvin Dumar's song.
Of these, the finest was, beyond a doubt, Melvin and Howard.Based on a twentieth century addition to American folklore( the improbable saga of Howard Hughes and Melvin Dummar), Jonathan Demmes' film tells the story of a chronically unsuccessful Everyman, Melvin Dummar, who claimed to have unknowingly picked up Howard Hughes one night in the Nevada desert, and who also claimed to have been written into Hughes' will.
Demme uses these materials to fashion a parable about the American dream and human aspiration.It is funny, superbly acted ( Robards probably deserved a third Oscar, and Mary Steenburgen fully deserved hers), well written, and profoundly human.
Melvin  Dummar may not have actually picked up Hughes in the desert, and the will may have been a forgery, but his life story does tell some important truths about the meaning of life..
Everyone thinks Raging Bull is the best film of the 1980's, but Melvin and Howard holds up better for me.
It's such a waste that Le Mat isn't used in more films.At least Mary Steenburgen's excellent performance didn't go unnoticed -- she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar.
Bo Goldman's cleverly constructed, highly nuanced script won another Oscar.Director Jonathan Demme went on to greater success and acclaim with Silence of the Lambs, but he achieved something special with Melvin and Howard.
Most directors would play Melvin Dummar's story for easy laughs, and while Demme finds humor in the material, he also explores with depth and sensitivity how the American Dream has failed some of its most ardent aspirants..
The most interesting parts of this film are the beginning and the end, because those are the parts in which Jason Robards plays a morose old man who may or may not be Howard Hughes.
The rest of the film concerns the life of Melvin, with very little to do with Howard, and Melvin is by far and away the lesser interesting character of the two.
The soundtrack is often noisy, which makes it hard to hear what the characters are say, and Steenburgen goes over-the-top in a role that she very questionably won an Oscar for.
Some have interpreted the film as some commentary or satire on American lifestyle and society, but I personally can find little evidence to support that theory, and therefore I only recommend this film to those who want to see one of Jason Robards' best performances..
Working class Melvin Dummar (Paul LeMat) finds along the road a scraggly old man (Jason Robards) who may or may not be Howard Hughes.
When Hughes leaves Melvin a sum of money, Hughes' family fights it.Yes, it sounds like a rather plain story, but director Jonathan Demme knows how to make it interesting.
Mary Steenburgen won an Oscar for her role as Melvin's wife Lynda; she adds an interesting dimension to the film, confused by her husband's unexpected fortune, but doing everything possible to keep her life together.
The best parts are Robards parts (he's playing Howard Hughes) and there are only two times we see Robards in a whole movie.
Instead, I got a film that really looked like a mediocre made-for-TV movie about people I could really care less about one way or the other.
As a slice of life film, it did seem pretty real--just not compelling.The story is this--Melvin told everyone that he picked up a guy in the desert that claimed to be Howard Hughes.
Then, the next hour or more of the film is watching both Melvin and his wife, Lynda, screw up their lives again and again because they both have the wisdom and intelligence of tree shrews.
The man claims to be Howard Hughes (Jason Robards), the multi- millionaire business tycoon.
After setting Hughes off on the strip, Melvin continues into his life.Some years later, Melvin receives a letter, dropped off at the gas station he works in, by a mystery man (Charles Napier), which purports to be the last will and testament of Howard Hughes, and which also leaves Melvyn $156,000,000.
What he gets from this simple chance meeting, is that Howard Hughes sang one of his songs (Melvin writes songs, and they sing "Santa's Souped-Up Sleigh"), on their journey to Vegas.Jonathan Demme's stunning comedy-drama, which is based on a true story, written by screenwriter Bo Goldman (One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest (1975)), is a very well observed, and affectionate portrayal of an assortment of working class characters.
The relationships are palpable, played with ease by a great cast (Steenburgen won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress).
The country was still getting over the impact of Howard Hughes' death and the will(s) he left to different people, including Melvin Dummar.
The story line (Melvin picks up Howard, takes him to the Sands, drops him off, and goes on with his life as a milkman, gas station owner/mechanic, etc.
until he's handed the will, being called a liar, two wives, etc.) is as Leonard Maltin put it in his book of movie reviews "a genuine American fable." First wife Lynda (Mary Steenburgen, in an Oscar-winning role) works as a waitress and dancer and later recreates some of that on a talent show (in real life, the Dummars were on "Let's Make a Deal"-note the resemblance between actor Robert Ridgely and Monty Hall).
This movie is a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon...it's one of the great stories in film history.
Mary Steenburgen deserved her Oscar for Best Supporting Actress and Bo Goldman's Oscar-winning screenplay hits home(fact or fiction)..
Starring the ever great Jason Robards as Howard Hughes, this little gem was one of Jonathon Demme's first films, and one of his best.
I had never heard of Melvin and Howard before, but it was airing on TV here a few nights ago so I checked it out in bed, thinking I'd just fall asleep to it, but I ended up liking it too much.
Mary Steenburgen is awesome in this movie and really deserved her award.
The book "The Investigation: A Former FBI Agent Uncovers the Truth Behind Howard Hughes, Melvin Dummar, and the Most Contested Will in American History" throws an entirely new light on the so-called Mormon Will case.
A stranger leaves on his desk a will proclaiming Melvin to be one of 16 heirs to the fortune of reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes.
Once upon a time, Melvin had given a lift to an aged, decrepit looking individual (Jason Robards) who claimed to be Hughes.
All of a sudden Melvins' ordinary life isn't so ordinary anymore, and he even has to go to court to affirm that he's not making up this incredible story."Melvin and Howard" is further testimony to the versatility of the late Hollywood filmmaker Jonathan Demme, who'd gotten his start, like many of his peers, working for independent operator Roger Corman.
Here Demme makes the most of the engrossing script by Oscar winning Bo Goldman, and the two men succeed the most in portraying the various ups and downs of average American life.And, of course, it's pretty funny as well.
Most of the highlights are provided by the memorable Mary Steenburgen (another Oscar winner, for Best Supporting Actress) as Melvins' first wife, especially during a TV talent contest.
Mary is a delight - and even gets naked, for those who are interested.Demme fills the cast with top actors, although the unaware should know that Robards' screen time is relatively brief.
Dummar also turns up as a counterman in a bus depot."Melvin and Howard" is the kind of story that seems too far fetched to be true, yet it's all performed and filmed so endearingly that it moves along extremely well, holding ones' attention consistently.Eight out of 10..
Melvin and Howard is one of those rare movies that are overlooked.
Maybe that's why more movie fans haven't heard of Melvin and Howard.
The story of Howard Hughes contains enough material to make a hundred movies.
This is one of Jonathan Demme's best films.
But, I think the one who gave the best performance is Mary Steenburgen as melvin's wife.
I think it's a really great film and I should recommend this for all you people who absolutely like Jonathan Demme's films.
Paul LeMat is fine as a working class Melvin Dummar in the Southwest.
When he drops him off in Las Vegas which is worth seeing in 1980, he returns to his life in a mobile home with long suffering wife Lynda Dummar (played by Oscar Winner Mary Steenburgen) and his daughter, Darcy, played by Elizabeth Cheshire.
Melvin is a likable guy and perhaps he really did meet Howard Hughes.
Jason Robards should have gotten his third Academy Award for his performance as Howard Hughes..
I never knew him personally but Paul Le Mat is a fine actor who had a prominent role in 'American Graffiti,' usually driving a young Shelly DuVall around (to his dismay)in his yellow chopped pick-up truck.I have always adored Mary Steenburgen.
I remember Pamela Reed (who portrayed Gordon Cooper's wife in 'The Right Stuff' and Melvin's 2nd wife as well as many other films) and she is also a great actress.So, although the script was weak and had too little of Howard Hughes (Jason Robards) in it, I can understand, because the screen writer and director downplay Dummar's claim, which of course, was thrown out of court..
A chance meeting with the legendary Howard Hughes, millionaire in the desert is the plot device that propels this cute little film.Sure, downtrodden folks dream of hitting the lottery or inheriting money from an unknown relative, but it is possible that a desperate man in real life, Melvin Dummar, may have forged himself into Hugh's will, but I doubt it.
The actual story the film is based on: In 1968, four years before reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes died, he was reported to have had an encounter with a good-natured blue collar worker, Howard Dummar.
An actor I've never heard of before in my life, Paul Le Mat, plays Dummar with an innocent "aw shucks" attitude that endears him to the audience and strengthens our opinion of him as the rightful heir.
He lets himself get easily seduced by an older female customer when he's delivering milk and when the woman who turns out to be his second wife makes suggestive innuendo at him, he says "Bonnie, aren't you a Mormon girl?" His first wife Linda, who was the focus of my attention on this film based on the fact that the only thing I knew about the film was that it was Mary Steenburgen's Academy-award winning role, was an interesting character: underneath the guise of her provocative clothing and desire to be a dancer (be it exotic or tap), she's equally innocent and oblivious to the world around her.
The film wants us to feel that it's Bonnie's struggle as well that the press is hounding her and her husband is under national scrutiny because she's his wife, but because of the way marriages were coming and going in the subculture that Paul lived in and the initial chemistry between Linda and Howard, I was kind of hoping that Bonnie was just a temporary road stop en route back to Linda.
I was expecting a movie about how a chance interaction with an eccentric millionaire, Howard Hughes, can change a persons life or at least have some small effect on a person.
I would not recommend this movie if you are a Howard Hughes fan, or even a little bit interested in him.
I do recommend this movie if you are a fan of Melvin what's his name...Added Note: Howard Hughes left an estate estimated at $2 billion.
A very inaccurate title, this has about 8 minutes of total Howard Hughes screen time, which is great Jason Robards.
Melvin Dummar is just not a movie unto himself.
Melvin and Howard - not so great.
While waiting for Howard Hughes to die, all these really depressing things are happening to this character "Melvin" and none of it makes sense in the grand scheme of things.
Melvin's first wife, whom he married twice, played by Mary Steenburgen, may have a lovely body and shakes her booty nicely but she's pretty loose and whores around without a problem --- hey, that's life.
That's what Director Jonathan Demme packed into his little biopic about Melvin Dummar.
And this is an interesting 'nobody/loser' kind of guy, since he picks up an old bum one night who claims to be Howard Hughes, and then doesn't think much of it...
It's the story of this father and husband who is decent at the former but not so much at the latter, as his wife leaves him for being such a 'loser', but then over the course of the film, after being divorced, comes back to him to remarry and have more kids and try to get by a little better.Paul Le Mat plays Melvin and it's a very good performance, since he is able to look into this character and find what makes him human and relatable just in that first scene alone, where by determination (via the luck that's already happened) gets Mr. Hughes to sing a Christmas song Melvin has 'penned' and is so goofy/giddy about it.
There's a joy to him, and this comes through even in the awkward moments between him and his wife played by Mary Steenburgen.