The Last of Sheila (1973)

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

I wanted to but couldn't!

Boring

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

In "The Last of Sheila", movie producer Clinton Green invites six of his friends to join him on his yacht in the south of France for what is ostensibly to play one of his "games". The game starts with Clinton handing out cards to each of the six participants. Written on each card is a secret about one of the other six people and the object of the game is to figure out which secret belongs to whom. Things go awry when Clinton is murdered and it's up to the guests to figure out who the culprit is. They undercover the fact the Clinton's invitation was for more than just to play a game. The setup of "The Last of Sheila" is promising and after a bumpy, confusing start, things actually get going about halfway through but Herbert Ross' direction feels unfocused and unsure which is surprising. This may be due to the difficulties he encountered while filming (the actors and crew apparently were getting nauseous filming on the boat and a set had to be built). In addition, the film doesn't take advantage of the lush locales like Hitchcock did in "To Catch a Thief" and it has been inexplicably photographed with a dusty, dry look that makes everything look drab. This type of movie requires tight direction with a lush touch like the kind that Sidney Lumet provided a couple of years later with "Murder on the Orient Express". The setup feels rushed. We're not entirely sure what everyone's relationship is to one another even after they all get onto the boat. The writers (Stephen Sondheim and Anthony Perkins) may have done this intentionally thinking it added to the mystery but coupled with Ross' muddled direction, it makes the early scenes a bit a mess. But the film eventually starts to come together and seeing the cast trying to figure out what's up is done well. The finale is a bit of a letdown though. The reveal is good and satisfying but only three of the six participants are present and this feels like we've been cheated. On the plus side, the actors are all very appealing with Richard Benjamin, James Mason and especially Dyan Cannon being the standouts. "The Last of Sheila" could have been better but as it is, it is certainly watchable and never boring.

I've been a cinema freak for as long as I can remember, which must be more than 25 years by now, but do you know what aspect I still like most about the movie-industry? It's the complete randomness of it all and the occasional spontaneous surprise! I can illustrate this best via an example: "The Last of Sheila" is one of the most convoluted, imaginative and intelligently scripted mystery-thrillers of the entire 70s decade. So one would assume that a film like this is either based on the works of an acclaimed novelist or at least penned down by a team of professional and experienced Hollywood writers, right? The opposite is true, in fact. "The Last of Sheila" was written by two puzzle-fanatics, active in the film industry although in entirely different fields, that never wrote any other stories before or after this one-hit-wonder! This may not sound too extraordinary to most people, but personally I'm very intrigued by this type of random coincidences. Anthony Perkins (Mr. Norman Bates of "Psycho") and Stephen Sondheim (a composer and songwriter) apparently share a nerdish passion for real-life scavenger hunts/puzzle games and combined their ingenious knowledge to think up this whodunit mystery that has more twists and turns than a mountain road in the French Alps! And – moreover – the red herrings all make full sense and the details of the denouement (although incredibly far-fetched) are all waterproof in the end, which is quite an impressive accomplishment for two men whose day-to-day job isn't writing scripts! Congratulations Mr. Perkins and Mr. Sondheim; your achievements give an additional dimension of brilliance to an already terrific film! "The Last of Sheila" will appeal mostly to fans of the better Agatha Christie adaptations, like "And then there were none" and "Murder on the Orient Express". What starts as a festive reunion among elite Hollywood colleagues quickly escalates into a hostile and confronting search for the culprit of an unsolved crime. The rich, eccentric and slightly obnoxious Clinton Green (stellar role for James Coburn) lost his wife Sheila in a hit-and-run accident. Exactly one year later, he invites six people who were present at the party on the night of Sheila's death for a vacation on the luxury yacht that carries the same name as his deceased wife. He thought up a seemingly innocent game for which he hands out little cards to all of his guests. The cards playfully accuse their owners of having committed a certain crime, and the purpose of the game is the participants to the crime on their cards. Some of the guests are righteously suspicious and discover that the crimes aren't just randomly chosen, but actual crimes that the guests desperately attempt to keep secret. Clinton's main goal of the trip is obviously to unmask his wife's killer, but a lot of unforeseen incidents will take place before the revelation of his/her identity. The rules of the games and the subsequent discussions between the characters are quite high-level and often difficult to follow, but most of all truly fascinating to behold. Especially during the last half hour, I was literally glued to the screen and regularly re-watched the most vital dialogs 2 or even 3 times in order to be sure I understood everything. It's always great when a movie sucks you like this. Of course, a film like this also owes a lot of its impact to the cast. In addition to James Coburn, the rest of the all-star cast gives away splendid performances as well. According to the trivia section, Raquel Welch behaved like an annoying diva and made herself quite unpopular amongst her co-players, but hey, she's Raquel Welch and she looks astounding! Hammer-horror nymph Yvonne Romain ("Curse of the Werewolf", "Night Creatures") briefly appears at the beginning of the film as the titular Sheila. Another nifty detail in the script is that one of the main characters refers to Hammer horror later in the film, when they're solving a riddle inside an abandoned monastery. I could go on and on about the inventiveness of the script and the particular attention that director Herbert Ross pays to minor details, but you get the idea. "The Last of Sheila" comes with my highest possible recommendation.

When I first viewed this movie, I was thrilled and confused. It takes a couple of viewings to get the catch. This mind twisting mystery is a great 70's classic. James Coburn plays a millionaire who's fascinated with playing games, well this game you don't have to movie you just have to be smart. Dyan Cannon and Raquel Welch are always great. My favorite scene is James Coburn in the castle on the second night of their game. Make sure you pay attention through the whole movie no interruptions. Excellent cast and excellent plot. I give it 10 out of 10 stars.So go out and view this movie you will love it.

Top notch yet obscure mystery concerning a group of friends assembled by the eccentric James Coburn to stay aboard his luxury yacht to ostensibly play an elaborate treasure hunt on nearby islands. But the fun and games turn into a bizarre and brutal murder club when a plot to uncover the killer of Coburn's wife is revealed. Everyone's a suspect, and through a process of elimination, the pieces of the game begin to implicate certain members of the group, as skeletons are bared and recriminations over the death of Coburn's wife Sheila (Yvonne Romaine, seen in flashback only) taunt the group.Benjamin is essentially the lead player, with great support from Hackett and Mason in particular. Raquel Welch looks great in her skimpy attire, ditto Dyan Cannon and Ian McShane isn't necessarily dwarfed by his co-stars. Kudos all round. Several red herrings and cul-de-sacs maintain the suspense, and the ingenious wrap up resolves all loose ends fittingly in a satisfying conclusion. An early theme song by Better Midler ("Friends") is also memorable. Interesting that this was co-authored by Anthony Perkins; another superb achievement in his impressive film repertoire.The careful dialogue and cinematography, timing and distinctive characterisations concoct an elaborate web of deceit that should keep the most avid arm-chair detective guessing until the end. Indeed Coburn teases us in the first act when Mason says he likes any game in which he doesn't have to move, to which Coburn responds with a Cheshire-grin "you don't have to for this one, if you're smart enough". While it remains little known (surprising when you consider the names attached), it's well worth tracking down for those who enjoy a neatly crafted mystery.