The Last of Sheila

This is one of those great mysteries of the 1970's, written by Stephen Sondheim and Anthony Perkins with a perfect touches of dialogue, and directed by someone (Herbert Ross) who could get the best out of the stellar cast.I first saw this on late-night TV in the early 1980's, and later had to buy the DVD just so I could re-watch it and see if all the clues really were there for the very astute. They are, but I won't spoil any of the fun in this review.Get it and watch it, then watch it again.

A murder mystery written by composer Stephen Sondheim (Sweeney Todd) and actor Anthony `She might have fooled me, but she didn't fool my mother' Perkins (it seems both men share an insatiable love of puzzles and games)? And a good one to boot? Whodda thunk it? Yes, it's true...what? You've never heard of it? Neither did I...until now...The Last of Sheila (1973), directed extremely well by Hollywood veteran Herbert Ross (Play it Again, Sam, The Goodbye Girl, Footloose), stars a formidable cast including the late, great James Coburn, Richard Benjamin, Dyan Cannon, James Mason, Raquel Welch, Joan Hackett (Will Penny, One Trick Pony), and Ian McShane (Roots).As the film opens, we witness the death of a woman as she storms from a late party, and, unable to get into her car, decides to hoof it...only to get run down by the side of the road. The woman's name was Sheila, and she was wife to high-powered Hollywood muckety muck Clinton Green (Colburn). A year has past, and now we see Clinton, who has a preponderance for games, on a yacht typing invitations for a weeklong get together he's planning, a seemingly sinister game ultimately revolving around the identity of the person who killed his wife. The invitees were all at the party that fateful night, and include Christine (Cannon), a promiscuous loudmouth Hollywood agent, Tom (Benjamin) and Lee (Hackett), a floundering screenwriter and his trust fund baby wife, Philip (Mason), a washed director, and Alice (Welch) and Anthony (McShane), a once popular actress now treading water relegated to opening shopping malls and such, and her hot-headed leechy husband/manager. All accept the invite, as they have pretty obvious interests in pitching, promoting, or working for Clinton, the well to do Hollywood producer. The game involves a dirty little secret from each of the guests' past, and is of a scavenger hunt of sorts. Things begin well enough, but soon the game takes a deadly turn as one of the participates meets an untimely end, and everyone's a suspect (well, except for the deceased). The rest are left to try and sort out the clues, and discover who among them is a killer.This is a wonderful little `whodunit' within a `whodunit', full of twists and turns, where little is as it seems. Ross keeps it tight, and the film moves along at a brisk pace. The plot is very complex and intricate, forcing the viewer to pay attention throughout lest he/she miss a critical element. One of the things I really liked was clues present themselves, but, at the time they're presented, they seem completely innocuous and hardly worth a second thought. The mystery is very intelligent as the story rarely speaks down to the viewer, assuming a level of intelligence of its' audience few films expect. The characters were decently developed, which is kind of surprising since there's quite a few of them. James Colburn's character literally and figuratively brings it all together, as the abrasive (he often refers to his guests as `washed up has beens', which may be true, but who likes to hear it?) scheming, trickster having a jolly good time watching his `victims' twist in the wind trying to unravel his elaborate and devious puzzles. One part I found completely disconcerting was Colburn in drag...a more horrifying visage I have yet to see, as Colburn has to be one of the ugliest women I've ever seen, and I fear it shall remain burned in my mind for quite some time, as no amount of alcohol shall wash it away...I though Cannon did very well, as the pushy, cheap and easy, loud mouthed talent agent who has little qualms about wearing her intentions on her sleeve, lacking the basic subtly most have as it would probably work against her in her profession. Benjamin also did well, playing the smart and intuitive screenwriter, now forced mainly to do rewrites, piecing together the clues much as you'd expect someone reasonably talented who deals with scripts, plots, and character development for a living. Mason did well, but he just seemed tired throughout, with brief glimpses of inspiration, but then I wonder if his character was written that way, as the world weary director now forced to direct dog food commercials to make a living. Welch's role seemed a bit light, as did McShane's. Both seemed to make the most of what they had, but ultimately, they were overshadowed by the other talent in the film. Another aspect worth mentioning is the location shots. Each night the yacht stops in a port and the gamers )for lack of a better term) are shuttle to a location with clues meant to lead them to where they'll find the solution for that night's puzzle...the European locales are used very well, and I really liked the incorporating of the old abbey, as it made for a great backdrop. The weakest element of the film, a superficial one at that, was the costuming...I know, I know...the 70's were an awkward period for fashion, but it's really noticeable here...and guess who was in charge of costume design? None other than Joel Schumacher...the man who pretty much single handedly destroyed the Batman film series with his completely awful direction in Batman Forever (1995) and Batman & Robin (1997), but, again, that's an entirely superficial element, and shouldn't dive you away from this clever and meticulous film worthy of multiple viewings as the plot is very complex and one may not pick everything up in one sitting.The picture here looks pretty good, and the audio is clear which is good as there's a lot of talkie, especially when the mystery is picked apart. Special features include a trailer and a pretty stinky commentary by Benjamin and Cannon. Welch also provided a commentary, and the two tracks were lopsidedly spliced together. Two rotten commentaries cut together make for one hugely hideous mess that should be avoided altogether.Cookieman108

It’s interesting Anthony Perkins wrote the screenplay (with song man Stephen Sondheim) about a group of Hollywood socialite friends, actors and writers with some serious skeletons in their closets — some apparently with some infidelities amongst each other. And there lies the first plot twist!It is not much of a secret The Last Of Sheila (1973) borrows and is inspired by the famous Agatha Christie murder mystery And Then There Were None (aka Ten Little Indians) with the characters written by Perkins and Sondheim apparently referencing with tongue-in-cheek some actual Hollywood players(?) (at one point late in movie there is a reference to a ‘good’ Hollywood couple ‘Paul and Joanne’…) who are taking turns being miserable, desperate, devious and, generally, not very likable.Dyan Cannon’s snarky schtick neuroses fits very well in this movie which is when the movie is at its best — developing the eccentricities of the characters. Eventually, (you) can’t help but laugh at some of the black comedy The Last Of Sheila shoots for.Also, With most of the movie taking place on a yacht there is also nothing wrong with getting to see Dyan Cannon and Raquel Welch (playing rather vacuous and shallow) in the occasional bathing suits.The cast is rounded out nicely by loud and and happy-go-lucky (to a crazed fault?) James Coburn. Richard Benjamin is the writer, Joan Hackett his troubled (why?), watery eyed wife.James Mason can play it smarmy in his sleep, and he does it well.Ian McShane is on board adding to the ‘who to trust’ suspects. There could be a sex offender on the guest list too.The Last Of Sheila rolls along as the game being played by host James Coburn begins to reveal the character of each flawed (see skeletons) guest.Treachery, murder and double crosses ensue.It’s not great but once the yacht sets sail and the game begins you should find yourself trying to figure out whodunnit — and why!Herbert Ross directed very arguably the meanest movie he ever helmed. Almost hard to believe four years later he would direct Richard Dreyfus and Marsha Mason in the Neil Simon comedy The Goodbye Girl. Harder to believe in 1984 he directed Footloose! But, then again, Ross did begin his career as a dance choreographer…But, The SHEILA mystery worth a watch as a 1970s study in status and greed via the mind of two screenwriters with a connection to Hollywood.4.3 stars

A who dunnit that does keep you guessing.

bon suspense bon film

A wonderful thrilling whodunit in the tradition of Agatha Christie.

Seit Jahren warte ich darauf, daß dieser raffinierte Krimi, der es mit jedem Agatha-Christie leicht aufnimmt, auf DVD erscheint - bislang vergeblich. Seit Menschengedenken wurde er auch nicht mehr im TV ausgestrahlt - unverständlicherweise. Den Drehbuch-Schreiber kennen Sie noch: Anthony Perkins. An die Schauspieler werden Sie sich erinnern: James Mason, James Coburn, Raquel Welsh, Richard Benjamin.Ein Jahr nach Erscheinen (1973) gewann das Skript die Auszeichnung Mystery Writers of America für das beste Drehbuch. Zu recht. Eine Schnitzeljagd unter Filmleuten gerät zur Mörder-Suche: intelligent, wendungsreich, spannend und plausibel. Ein Krimi mit Charme und Esprit!

Zu Zeiten, als das Spiel Cluedo noch nicht wirklich bekannt war, gab es schon diesen Film. Ich finde ihn genial. Schon als ich ihn das erste mal sah, fand ich die Idee, die hinter der Geschichte steckt sehr gut. Ein Vorgriff auf alle folgenden Adventure-Games. Die englische Tonspur ist sehr gut zu verstehen, kann den Film uneingeschränkt weiterempfehlen.

Wann kommt dieser geniale Film endlich als DVD? Vor Jahren kam der Film, der in deutscher Synchronfassung vorliegt, mal im Fernsehen und danach nie wieder.