Melvin and Howard tells the possibly true story of Melvin E. Dummar. Melvin is a nice guy, but he is a total loser: unlucky, impractical and can’t keep a job. One night, however, he helps an old man who has had a motorcycle accident in the desert. Melvin laughs when the old man says he is Howard Hughes, the eccentric multimillionaire. But when Howard Hughes dies, Melvin is mailed a will leaving him part of the estate.
Melvin and Howard is a 1980 American comedy-drama film directed by Jonathan Demme. The screenplay by Bo Goldman was inspired by real-life Utah service station owner Melvin Dummar, who was listed as the beneficiary of USD 156 million in a will allegedly handwritten by Howard Hughes that was discovered in the headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City. A novelization of Goldman’s script later was written by George Gipe. The film starred Paul Le Mat, Jason Robards and, in an Academy Award-winning performance, Mary Steenburgen.
Melvin and Howard (1980)
Directed by: Jonathan Demme
Starring: Paul Le Mat, Jason Robards, Elizabeth Cheshire, Mary Steenburgen, Chip Taylor, Melvin E. Dummar, Denise Galik
Screenplay by: Bo Goldman
Production Design by: Toby Carr Rafelson
Cinematography by: Tak Fujimoto
Film Editing by: Craig McKay
Set Decoration by: Robert Gould
Art Direction by: Richard Sawyer
Music by: Bruce Langhorne
Distributed by: Universal Pictures
Release Date: September 19, 1980
Visits: 51
