MovieChat Forums > Melvin and Howard (1980) Discussion > Melvin lied...just another opinion.

Melvin lied...just another opinion.

posted 13 years ago by chet19
1 reply | jump to latest

Whenever there is a will, the executor (or in this case, the mystery man), would not just deliver the original handwritten copy to ONE of the beneficiaries. Makes no sense. You deliver the will to a court or a judge. Or at the very least, you give a copy to all 16 beneficiaries, not just one. Melvin shot himself in the foot (in real life, this wasn't in the movie) by forgetting about his fingerprints. He tried to lie and say that he had nothing to do with the envelope at the Mormon offices...but then ONLY AFTER his fingerprints were found, then he covered up his lie and said, Oh yeah, I guess I did put it there. Right then and there, you have to realize he is lying. Innocent people simply do not lie to the authorities.

[–] mustang2006 12 years ago

The mystery man said he was following Howard Hughes' instructions. He opened the package he was given years before, opened it when he heard Howard Hughes' died, and the "will" was in it. Melvin said he was afraid when he opened the envelope the mystery man had left at the gas station, when he saw what it contained. He resealed it and took it to the Church headquarters, but after the fingerprints were found he admitted he'd done that. He always claimed the didn't forge the will. Maybe he did, IDK, but lying about one thing doesn't mean he lied about it all.

Norman Vincent Peale: "Stay Alive All Your Life".