The Last of Sheila

Great movie, loved the cast, plot is complex without being convoluted. But if we may...at some point they settled on child molester even though it didn't work for the anagram. So they had to fudge that in order to still be able to cram in child molester. Think about that. If I recall correctly, James Mason's character was based on a composite of two real life directors. Now think about that. Aaaaaaanyways, good watch. I like it.

"Everyone has a secret. Why, someone in this room is an informer, someone else is an alcoholic, and we even have a child molester in our midst." "Wait, what was that?" "Oh yes, there's a heinous shoplifter! Truly all these secrets are on the same page." The biggest surprise in this film was that the child molester becomes our Sherlock Holmes. I'll say it again -- the 70s were wild.

Slow to start and ultimately somewhat predictable, this is kept fresh and pleasant by sly dialogue, splendid playing (Mason, Coburn, Hackett and Benjamin are all great) and some ingenious turns along the way.

Star-packed murder mystery written by Broadway legends really doesn't progress with much momentum at all, but when the true wheels of the actual murder puzzle start turning, it pulls a lot of palpable tension and sharp dialogue out of nowhere and does the job.

The ingenious conceit of letting the suspects in this enjoyable whodunit themselves play a game that involves hints to their various misdeeds will give you a mental workout. Or you can choose to simply have a blast with the starry cast. Too bad the ending doesn't measure up.

Everytime you think you know who did it there is a twist. Probably one of the better whodunits I've seen. The acting is decent all around, but at the same time no one is great.

LOL Richard Benjamin tries to kill James Mason with puppets! (Also keep your eyes peeled for a young Ian MacShane, whose wife is played by a young Raquel Welch.)

This film has a slow burn but the script rewards the viewer that sticks with it. This movie has a nice ensemble cast with most of them doing good work here. Overall I would recommend this mystery.

A little torn on this one. I love locked-room mysteries, and this one certainly has enough twists and turns to make anyone dizzy. But some of the cast felt a little flat (except for Coburn, who was chewing up the scenery). And then there's that "final" card that everyone just simply forgot to ask questions about, and ... well, let's just say the usual ending *requires* a room full of people, unlike here. I guess we don't see more of these because they're so hard to do well.

This has a fun concept with some nice touches, but the pacing is poor and the overall filmmaking is messy.

Great setup, but a contrived, implausible ending.

This really effective mystery film was co-written by Anthony Perkins and Stephen Sondheim, inspired by mystery parties that they used to host. It's a shame they never wrote any more films together because this is a very well structured script that drops a lot of deliberate clues, but conceals them enough to hide their significance.

UQFR #136: Fun whodunnit with an underappreciated cast, except Welch. More like Belch.

I hate the characters as written, and the rich white Hollywood self-absorption dripping from every frame - but I enjoy the interesting, twisty structure, and the characters as played are suffused by veteran actors with some complex humanity - not to mention James Coburn clearly having a wonderful time. Plus, the weapons used in the climactic fight are amazing. (But they really didn't need to make the L in Sheila that.)

I loved the cast and their dialogue was fabulous. I didn't like that i figured it out(minus details perhaps) very early on. The game itself was ingenious and unique. The pacing was wonky...the time between the first game and the second was especially....longgg. The final conversation was good bc of who delivered the lines...however it seemed out of place for a person to lay out a murders entire plan & not expect the murderer to attack them.ian mcshane looks like he did all the greasy 70s things

Further proof that a Sondheim/Greenaway collaboration would be perfect. I mean, this is a cynical, cerebral and gimmicky puzzle film with deliberately unlikable characters, so duh... unfortunately it's also a Hollywood murder mystery so it's predictably and stupidly plot-twisty even if it's clearly a bit smarter than, say, The Usual Suspects (if not by much). Herbert Ross does a serviceable directing job, with lots of typical '70s telephoto zooms and even some pseudo-giallo POV stuff...

83.500

first one hour is too boring.

Stephen Sondheim and Anthony Perkins wrote the script for this witty murder mystery, a particularly intricate one because the story is all about games: the widower of the titular Sheila, a year after her death, convenes their friends to play "The Sheila Green Memorial Gossip Game." Things get increasingly complex from there. A great trifle, with an all-star cast having a ball, and a fiendishly clever script filled with surprises and in-jokes. Perhaps only good for one viewing, but well worth it.

A macabre but playful whodunit, somewhat along the lines of Sleuth or Deathtrap. The plot is quite clever and has a lively sense of gamesmanship. Some of the twists you see coming, but some you don't. The aesthetic hasn't dated well, but maybe that's just me. The cast are a little cheesy but take on their roles with aplomb. Some of the dialogue is a bit too "inside Hollywood" in a nudge-nudge-wink-wink way, but there are some good lines. All in all, it's a fun time and I'm glad I watched it.