Walk Like a Man (1987 film)

Last updated
Walk Like a Man
Walk like a man poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Melvin Frank
Written by Robert Klane
Produced byLeonard C. Kroll
Starring Howie Mandel
Christopher Lloyd
Cloris Leachman
Colleen Camp
Amy Steel
Cinematography Victor J. Kemper
Edited by Bill Butler
Stephen Butler
Music by Lee Holdridge
Production
company
Distributed by MGM/UA Communications Co.
Release date
  • April 17, 1987 (1987-04-17)
Running time
86 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$460,608

Walk Like a Man is a 1987 American comedy film directed by Melvin Frank and starring Howie Mandel, Christopher Lloyd, Amy Steel, and Cloris Leachman. The plot concerns a young man who finally returns to his high-society family after having been raised by wolves. It was released to theaters on April 17, 1987.

Contents

Plot

Henry Shand goes to Alaska to search for gold and find his fortune. While there, his spoiled brat of a son, Reggie, gets mad that he has to work for money. What further angers him is the fact that he has to share the dogsled with his two-year-old brother Robert, nicknamed "Bobo". Reggie decides to take matters into his own hands and pushes the toddler off the sled, leaving him to die in the wintery Klondike wilderness.

Some twenty years later, Henry has died, giving Reggie a large inheritance of thirty million dollars. Reggie foolishly spends it within a year, causing his new bride, Rhonda, to become an angry alcoholic, as they have gone broke and had to move back in with Reggie's mother, Margaret. Margaret has gone insane since Bobo's disappearance and Henry's death, and has now spent much of the family's fortune on buying homes for stray cats.

Meanwhile, a biologist named Penny arrives from Alaska, claiming to have found Bobo alive and well. They discover that Bobo has been raised by timber wolves, causing him to sniff everyone's butts, greet people by licking their faces, run on all fours, eat with his mouth rather than using flatware, growl and bark, chew on shoes, and run through fresh cement while chasing cats or fire trucks.

Reggie decides to manipulate Bobo into signing over his inheritance to him to pay off gambling debts. Reggie tells Penny that she can use Bobo for wolf research, but first must teach him to walk, talk, read, and, of course, write. Penny gives Bobo a shave and a haircut, but getting him to act like a human proves to be a difficult task, and Bobo continues to unknowingly cause problems. Things get even worse when Bobo goes out in public, wreaking havoc in a shopping mall by going into dressing rooms, unwittingly trying on clothes and walking out of stores with them.

As Bobo behaves more like a person than a dog, Penny begins to fall in love with him. Reggie wants her to speed up the training of his savage sibling, as the people he owes money to want their cash quickly. In court, Penny stands up for Bobo, having discovered Reggie's scheme. Bobo refuses to sign, and Reggie frantically engages in canine behavior—growling, barking, chewing on a squeaky toy—in an attempt to demonstrate how Bobo was acting, making him look asinine to the judge, who dismisses the case. Bobo and Penny go outside and kiss, but Bobo stops to chase a fire engine.

Cast

Production

The wolves in this film were uncreditedly trained by employees of Steve Earl Martin's Frazier Park, California-based cinematic and television animal sanctuary Working Wildlife. This film was an independent film, one of the first to be produced by Mandel. To this day, the budget is unknown. However, the film was also a box office bomb, grossing $460,608 at the box office. [1]

Home video

The film was released on VHS in late 1987, and on DVD on March 2, 2004.

Related Research Articles

<i>The Last Picture Show</i> 1971 film by Peter Bogdanovich

The Last Picture Show is a 1971 American coming-of-age drama film directed and co-written by Peter Bogdanovich, adapted from the semi-autobiographical 1966 novel The Last Picture Show by Larry McMurtry. The film's ensemble cast includes Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Ellen Burstyn, Ben Johnson, Cloris Leachman, and Cybill Shepherd. Set in a small town in northern Texas from November 1951 to October 1952, it is a story of two high-school seniors and long-time friends, Sonny Crawford (Bottoms) and Duane Jackson (Bridges).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cloris Leachman</span> American actress (1926–2021)

Cloris Leachman was an American actress and comedian whose career spanned nearly eight decades. She won many accolades, including eight Primetime Emmy Awards from 22 nominations, making her the most nominated and, along with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, most awarded performer in Emmy history. Leachman also won an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Golden Globe Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howie Mandel</span> Canadian actor and comedian (born 1955)

Howard Michael Mandel is a Canadian comedian, television personality, actor, and producer. Mandel is known for voicing Gizmo in the 1984 film Gremlins and the 1990 sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch, playing rowdy ER resident Dr. Wayne Fiscus on the NBC medical drama St. Elsewhere, and creating and starring in the Fox children's cartoon Bobby's World. He has also been a judge on NBC's America's Got Talent since 2010, and Citytv's Canada's Got Talent since 2022. He hosted the American NBC and later CNBC game show Deal or No Deal, as well as the show's daytime and Canadian-English counterparts.

<i>Bobbys World</i> American animated television series for children

Bobby's World is an American animated comedy children's television series that aired on Fox Kids from September 8, 1990, to February 23, 1998. The show was created by Canadian actor/comedian Howie Mandel, who also performs the voices of both Bobby and his father Howard Generic.

<i>Spanglish</i> (film) 2004 film by James L. Brooks

Spanglish is a 2004 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by James L. Brooks and starring Adam Sandler, Téa Leoni, Paz Vega, and Cloris Leachman.

<i>The Beverly Hillbillies</i> (film) 1993 film by Penelope Spheeris

The Beverly Hillbillies is a 1993 American comedy film directed by Penelope Spheeris, written by Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal, and starring Jim Varney, Diedrich Bader, Dabney Coleman, Erika Eleniak, Cloris Leachman, Rob Schneider, Lea Thompson and Lily Tomlin.

<i>Double, Double, Toil and Trouble</i> 1993 American TV series or program

Double, Double, Toil and Trouble is a 1993 American Halloween made-for-television children's film. It stars Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen as two adventurous little girls who discover that their Great Aunt Sophia has been trapped and cursed by her evil twin sister Agatha. On the 7th year of her imprisonment, Sophia will be doomed to the netherworld unless the curse is broken by the magical spell of twins. The film's title is part of the famous line spoken by the three witches in Shakespeare's Macbeth : "Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble."

<i>A Fine Mess</i> (film) 1986 film by Blake Edwards

A Fine Mess is a 1986 American comedy film written and directed by Blake Edwards and starring Ted Danson and Howie Mandel.

<i>Texasville</i> 1990 American drama film by Peter Bogdanovich

Texasville is a 1990 American drama film written and directed by Peter Bogdanovich. Based on the 1987 novel Texasville by Larry McMurtry, it is a sequel to The Last Picture Show (1971), and features Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, Cloris Leachman, Timothy Bottoms, Randy Quaid, and Eileen Brennan reprising their roles from the original film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon Shepodd</span> American actor

Hugh Goodwin, better known as Jon Shepodd, was an American actor. On television, he was the first actor to play the role of Paul Martin in the long-running series Lassie Shepodd appeared as a guest star on Lassie in Season 3 in the episode "Lassie's Day" as "Al" the delivery man for Martha's Bakery.

<i>Charley and the Angel</i> 1973 family/comedy film by Vincent McEveety

Charley and the Angel is a 1973 American Disney family/comedy film set in an unidentified small city in the 1930s Depression-era Midwestern United States and starring Fred MacMurray in one of his final film appearances and his last film for Disney. The film, directed by Vincent McEveety, is based on The Golden Evenings of Summer, a 1971 novel written by Will Stanton.

Stress Relief (<i>The Office</i>) 14th and 15th episodes of the 5th season of The Office

"Stress Relief" is a two-part episode of the American comedy television series The Office. It constitutes the fourteenth and fifteenth episodes of the fifth season and the 86th and 87th overall episodes of the series. Both episodes were directed by Jeffrey Blitz and written by Paul Lieberstein, who also plays Toby Flenderson on the show.

<i>Foolin Around</i> 1980 film by Richard T. Heffron

Foolin' Around is a 1980 American comedy romance sport film directed by Richard T. Heffron and starring Gary Busey and Annette O'Toole. The film was shot on location in Minneapolis and St. Paul. The theme music was performed by Seals and Crofts.

"Blue Dots" is the eighth episode of the first series of the Fox sitcom Raising Hope. The episode was written by Liz Astrof, her first for the series, and was directed by Eyal Gordin. The episode premiered November 16, 2010 on the Fox Broadcasting Company. The plot follows Jimmy' attempt to get Hope into a better daycare, the revelation that Burt is a sex offender, and the rest of the family becoming sex offenders from the resulting attempt to get Burt's conviction overturned.

Love Is Never Silent is an American drama television film that premiered on NBC on December 9, 1985, as part of the Hallmark Hall of Fame anthology series. It is directed by Joseph Sargent and written by Darlene Craviotto, based on the novel In This Sign by Joanne Greenberg. The film stars Mare Winningham, Phyllis Frelich, Ed Waterstreet, Fredric Lehne, Cloris Leachman, and Sid Caesar. It follows a young woman who struggles with her own need for independence and the obligation she feels for her deaf parents.

<i>Happy Mothers Day, Love George</i> 1973 film by Darren McGavin

Happy Mother's Day, Love George is a 1973 American mystery film produced and directed by Darren McGavin. The film stars Patricia Neal, Cloris Leachman, Bobby Darin, Tessa Dahl, Ron Howard, Kathie Browne, Joe Mascolo, Simon Oakland, and Thayer David.

<i>Dying Room Only</i> 1973 television film by Philip Leacock

Dying Room Only is a 1973 American made-for-television horror mystery thriller film directed by Philip Leacock and starring Cloris Leachman and Ross Martin. Written by Richard Matheson and based on his 1953 short story of the same name, the film follows a woman whose husband disappears after they stop by a rural diner in the Arizona desert.

A Girl Named Sooner is a 1975 American made-for-television drama film directed by Delbert Mann and based upon Suzanne Clauser's novel of the same name. Clauser also wrote the screenplay.

<i>Jump, Darling</i> 2020 Canadian drama film

Jump, Darling is a 2020 Canadian drama film directed by Phil Connell. The film stars Thomas Duplessie as Russell, a rookie drag queen reeling from a break-up, who escapes to Prince Edward County, where he finds his grandmother Margaret in steep decline yet desperate to avoid the local nursing home. The film was one of Leachman's final performances before her death in 2021.

<i>Hansel and Gretel</i> (1987 film) 1987 film

Hansel and Gretel is a 1987 American Israeli fantasy musical film, part of the 1980s film series Cannon Movie Tales. It is directed by Len Talan and stars David Warner, Cloris Leachman, Hugh Pollard and Nicola Stapleton. It is a contemporary version of the classic tale of Hansel and Gretel of the Brothers Grimm. Like the other Cannon Movie Tales, the film was filmed entirely in Israel.

References

  1. "Walk Like a Man (1987)". The Numbers.