The
genius of Stephen Sondheim is usually reserved for the Broadway stage as the
creator or co-creator of multiple award-winning and classic musicals (West
Side Story, Gypsy, Company, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in
the Park with George, etc.). The presence of Anthony Perkins is usually earmarked
for screen and stage appearances as an actor (Psycho, Catch-22, Murder
on the Orient Express, etc.). So, who would have thought that these two
would team up to write a murder mystery screenplay—with no musical numbers
within earshot—that would be filmed by director Herbert Ross, and then win an
Edgar Allan Poe Award from Mystery Writers of America for the script?
The
Last of Sheila,
released in early summer 1973, seems to be a precursor to the series of Agatha
Christie all-star-cast pictures that launched in the mid-70s (e.g., Murder
on the Orient Express). It’s an original story, though, concocted by
Sondheim and Perkins, allegedly inspired by real “scavenger hunt†party games
that were thrown by their friends in those days. Starring (alphabetically)
Richard Benjamin, Dyan Cannon, James Coburn, Joan Hackett, James Mason, Ian
McShane, and Raquel Welch, the cast of seven is not as large as those Christie
extravaganzas, but you get the idea. In a way, it is also an antecedent to the
whodunnit, Knives Out (2019), which has a similar structure.
Movie
producer Clinton (Coburn) is married to Sheila (Yvonne Romain in a cameo), who is
killed by a hit-and-run driver after a late night party in Hollywood. A year
later, Clinton invites six close friends to a week of sailing on his yacht in
the Mediterranean. These include writer Tom (Benjamin), his wife Lee (Hackett),
director Philip (Mason), casting agent Christine (Cannon), actress Alice
(Welch), and her husband/manager Anthony (McShane). Clinton is a lover of
parlor games, and he has concocted an elaborate murder-mystery-game in which
the six contestants must compete as a condition for joining the cruise. Each
player is given a card that reveals a “secret†that may or may not be a true
one. For example, one card reads, “You are a shoplifter,†or “You are an
ex-convict.†Each night at a port of call, the contestants must run around the
village ashore and hunt for the answer to who holds that night’s particular
card. Clinton provides the clues. On the first night, the object is to find out
who holds the “shoplifter†card, and so on. It is revealed later in the picture
that one of the cards reads, “You are a hit-and-run driver,†indicating that
Clinton wants to reveal who killed Sheila.
Thus
begins a game of musical chairs, as Christine puts it, with the tale twisting
and turning and real secrets emerge. Director Ross—and the script—keeps us
guessing, especially when one “solution†turns out not to be correct. The
entire affair is told with a light touch, much like the future Agatha Christie
all-star vehicles, but there is a seriousness underlying the proceedings that
makes for a good caper.
The
cast is excellent. Coburn is especially winning—there is one bit where is
dressed in drag and it’s a shock! Benjamin, Hackett, Cannon, and Mason also
display a command of the screen. A very young Ian McShane is almost
unrecognizable from the man we know today. Welch is gorgeous, as always, and
she competently stands her own with the others.
The
new Warner Archive Blu-ray looks marvelous and comes with a DTS-HD Master Audio
soundtrack in 2.0 mono. An entertaining but somewhat meandering audio
commentary by stars Benjamin, Cannon, and Welch accompanies the feature. The
only supplement is the theatrical trailer.
The
Last of Sheila was
supposed to have been the first of several screenplay collaborations between
Sondheim and Perkins, but this ended up being the only one. It’s a surprisingly
good curio, though, and worth checking out, especially for fans of any of the
cast members, mystery whodunnits, and the lush South of France locations.
