The script for "The Last of Sheila" was written by two men who were both better known for other things, Stephen Sondheim who is best known as a composer, and the actor Anthony Perkins, best remembered as Norman Bates in "Psycho". The film opens with a young woman named Sheila Greene being killed in a hit-and-run accident. A year later her husband Clinton, a wealthy movie producer, invites six friends, all connected with the film industry, to join him on a pleasure cruise off the French Riviera aboard his luxury yacht, the "Sheila". Once the cruise is under way, Clinton informs his guests of the game that he has organised for their entertainment. Each of the six is given a card containing what Clinton calls "a pretend piece of gossip"- e.g. "you are an informer", "you are a homosexual", etc. Each guest must keep his or her "piece of gossip" a secret from the others; the idea behind the game is that, every evening, the guests are given a clue then have to take part in a treasure-hunt type game to find out who holds the card relating to that evening's "gossip". After the first evening, however, it begins to appear the gossip contained on each card may not be "pretend" at all but rather the revelation of an actual secret; that evening's card read "you are a shoplifter" and it is revealed that one of the guests, an actress named Alice Wood, was indeed once arrested for shoplifting. Some of the guests begin to suspect that Clinton may be playing a cruel game with them and that his real purpose may be to expose the person responsible for the death of his wife. (He refers to the game as "The Sheila Greene Memorial Gossip Game"). It therefore does not come as any great surprise when Clinton is found murdered on the second evening. "The Last of Sheila" is really a film of two halves. The first half seems like a stylish, elegant and unusual mystery, which keeps us wondering just why Clinton is playing such a sadistic game with his guests and what the outcome will be. The trouble is that by far the most interesting character is James Coburn's Clinton, a sinister puppeteer pulling the strings of the others. When Clinton is killed about halfway through, the puppets' strings are cut and they have to try and stand on their own feet. From this point on the film turns into an Agatha Christie-type whodunit, albeit one without a Miss Marple or Poirot-type detective; the guests have to solve the mystery for themselves. (One might ask why they do not simply call in the police; the answer is that if they did that there would not be much of a film).Apart from Coburn, in the sort of cool-but-sinister role I have come to associate with him, none of the cast make much of an impression. Of the female members, only Joan Hackett has much to do; Raquel Welch and Dyan Cannon just seem to be there to lend some glamour, in accordance with the seventies rule that you could not set a film on a yacht without having a couple of girls in bikinis to brighten up the scene. (Welch appears not to have enjoyed making this film very much; at the time there were press reports of frequent clashes between her and the director Herbert Ross and her co-star James Mason). The other male members of the cast, Richard Benjamin, Mason, and Ian McShane, all seem too relaxed about the situation they find themselves in, even though it is a situation which could end with at least one of them going to the guillotine. (France still had the death penalty in 1973).Perkins and Sondheim won the 1974 Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Motion Picture Screenplay. I can only think that there was little competition for the award. (I must admit that I cannot think of any really good mystery films from 1973). What starts off as something potentially fresh and original ends up as something over- familiar and hackneyed. 5/10

Okay, first of all the premise of this film when written on paper looks interesting. What part of "man invites friends over knowing one of them accidentally killed his wife a year earlier" doesn't sound interesting? The way they go about it is also pretty good.The way the writing is done is very good if you want a well-written mystery that does get explained rather well (and would you believe it - it was written by Anthony Perkins who played Norman Bates). It sort of gives off clues that you never look out for until the mystery is almost over. Which is rather well done.Now onto my complaints, the mystery in my opinion would have worked better if Clinton didn't die and actually went on with the game. I just would think that it would have been set off in a better direction than what we had. It just seemed like a great way to go through a mystery.Not only that but I felt unable to connect with the characters. None of them were interesting. Which is my biggest complaint. Because aside from that it could have been great.So it is a well written mystery but aside from that I'm just unable to connect with the characters.

"The Last of Sheila" is my favorite whodunit (along with the 1945 version of "And Then There were None"). It is definitely one of the most involving & intricate whodunits I've seen. And to think it was all devised by old New York pals Anthony Perkins and Stephen Sondheim - brilliant! Witty, sarcastic, sadistic, funny ... brilliant! And brought to the screen in such lively fashion by Broadway vet Herb Ross, who keeps it moving at a crackerjack pace.The casting is terrific! Only Raquel Welch comes off as a tad superficial & unsure of herself. I confess that I've been a fan of James Coburn since I was a little kid, and my God, was he ever in his element as a fun-loving yet cutting & mean-spirited producer on a very serious mission.The bottom line is this: if you enjoy whodunits, then "The Last of Sheila" should be on your list of must-see movies. You'll love it!

This is one of those odd 70's films that (when compared to some suspense today) are falsely interpreted as brilliant. It came out at the same time "Murder on the Orient Express", "Death on the Nile", "Sleuth" and other Agatha Christie like interpretations which came to be popular.That being said it is watchable, Richard Benjamin and Joan Hackett as an unhappily married Beverly Hills couple. Dyan Cannon as a shrill, narcissistic, hedonist actress (no stretch there). Raquel Welch as attractive lesbian, and a few other odd assorted characters including James Mason (always good, no matter how bad the material).James Coburn is a sadistic mogul/producer who invites his assorted Hollywood colleagues on a yacht trip to solve what recently the unsolved homicide of his wife Sheila. Each player has a secret, and Coburn knows them all. There are the usual shell games, ruses and psycho-drama. Anyone who reads and enjoys true mysteries may get bored after the first 45 minutes.Overall though, Coburn and Mason are fun to watch, and there are a few twists here so it may be worth tuning in as you are trying to fall asleep. True mystery/suspense fans will find some comedy here. 7/10.