Movie of the Day (1/18/10)- The Last of Sheila (1973)

The Last of Sheila (1973)
-starring Richard Benjamin, Dyan Cannon, James Mason, Raquel Welch, Ian McShane, Joan Hackett and James Coburn
-directed by Herbert Ross

-Not many have heard of this intriguing all-star murder mystery from 1974, but those who have seen it count it as one of the best in the canon of whodunnits. The Last of Sheila tells the story of Sheila Green who is first seen storming out of her own party at her Bel Air mansion. While walking along a darkened street, she is struck down by a moving car and killed instantly. A year later, a group of Hollywood figures and friends including, a high-powered agent (Cannon), a screenwriter (Benjamin), his wife (Hackett), a director (Mason), an actress (Welch) and her husband/manager (McShane) are all invited to a week on the yacht of famous producer Clinton Green (Coburn) to discuss making a film about his late wife. A noted gamesman, Clinton has also enlisted his guests into a guessing game involving true life secrets. Each person is handed a sealed envelope containg secrets ranging from shoplifter to homosexual. The object of the game is to discover each person's secret while trying to conceal your own but it doesn't take long to discover that each of the secrets being used in the game are actual one belonging to the players. When it is revealed that one of the secrets turns out to be hit-and-run-killer, the game turns decidedly ugly.

If the premise seems a bit straightforward, that's because at first gance it is. Yet as the story progresses, the mysteries delightfully pile on top of one another: who recieved what card, who is acutally guilty of what secret, who really killed Sheila, etc... This is perhaps one of the most clever mystery films of the 1970s due to its extremely clever plot. As the film progresses, it becomes apparent that the most minute of details provide answers to whole sub-plots and characters who apreared seemingly easy to read, are not!! One thing is for certain; no one is truly innocent during what Clinton calls "Sheila's Game" and even as the secrets begin to unfold, and the list of suspects begins to slim down, the mystery remains far from over.

It is more than evident that everyone in the film had a blast with the project as seen through the performances of an emsemble who give true life to all of their characters with Coburn as a true standout as the mastermind behind "Sheila's Game." The film itself is so self-referential with many side-references to Hollywood during the 1970s which not only proves to be entertaining, but adds an air of reality and credibility to the proceedings.

Equally as impressive as the talent on the screen is the crew behind the camera including notable film director Joel Shcumacher who worked as costumer on this film, Bette Midler whose song "Friends" was used as the film's closing theme, and most notably, Psycho star Anthony Perkins and composer Stephen Sondheim, both of whom wrote the screenplay!! With two such established names in the fields of acting and music respectively, it is completely mind-boggling how these men came up with a screenplay so cleverly-plotted as The Last of Sheila.

With an assortment of some of the hottest stars of the 1970s, and a clever mystery at hand, The Last of Sheila plays as a sort of counterpart to Murder on the Orient Express, another ingenous whodunnit of the 1970s filled with lavish stars. Unlike the latter film though, The Last of Sheila provides mystery after mystery throughout its 2 hour run. After its release, the film was awarded the Edgar Allan Poe Award for best picture, beating out classics such as The Sting, Serpico and Don't Look Now.
Yet in the years since, the title and reputation as one of the greatest mystery films of the 1970s has eluded The Last of Sheila. Some years back a film society held a special screening with a Q&A where stars Benjamin and Cannon answered questions from a packed house of fans and a standard dvd of the film was released with commentary from Benjamin, Cannon and Welch as the sole special feature.

Perhaps one day this dazzling whodunnit filled with fun performances and an intelligent story will be given the respect it truly deserves. Until then however, fans of the genre will continue to discover The Last of Sheila; a hidden gem of a mystery so clever that even the title itself is a clue!!

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi2790522905/