hughman55 If you begin watching this you'll be excused for thinking that it is a light piece of 70's fluff. But if you hang in to the end, and pay close attention along the way, you will come to realize that it is so much more. This fluffy little Bonn Bonn of a film becomes quite the riddle; as well as a commentary on Hollywood cynicism and the inevitability of rising to one's level of one's own incompetence. The closing shot says it all. There is also some heavy hitting in the acting category from Richard Benjamin, Diane Cannon, and best of all, the never failing James Mason. I, at first, wondered what an actor of James Mason caliber was even doing a film like this. Money? Sure. Everyone needs money. Oh, but no, he's actually necessary for this story. Richard Benjamin plays a complex character in an understated way that manages to stay within the perimeter of a tricky kind of film. Diane Cannon steals every scene without trying. A lot of talent here, a GREAT screenplay, and a surprise ending that will leave you equally bewildered and surprised.Thanks to TCM we get to revisit these films or find them for the first time. Some age well. Some not so much. A good mystery will never let you down and this is a good mystery. And then below the mystery is another layer that the film has been commenting on since its first frame that just comes down like a sledge hammer at the end. I think it would be fair to say that this film was remade later as, and just as effectively as, "The Player" with Tim Robbins. "The Last of Sheila" is every bit as good with some interesting retro 70's sociology such as; being a "homosexual" is the same as being from Mars. There's a lot here to enjoy. You won't be disappointed.

thatmovieguy91 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.

MarieGabrielle 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.

Irie212 When it was released in 1973, "The Last of Sheila" hit me like a shot of Johnny Walker red (the preferred snort of the Hollywood heiress played by Joan Hackett). Then, a few months ago, it turned up streaming on Netflix. I watched it again and enjoyed it so thoroughly that I chose it several months later to watch with a house guest– a friend who knows so little about movies that, during "Dial M for Murder," he asked, "Who's that actress?" He enjoyed it, too, enough to discuss it afterward–- something I applaud even though I agree with this pithy bit of dialog spat out by a magnificent James Coburn: "We don't want this topic to degenerate to the discussion phase." "Sheila" is a murder mystery that begins with Sheila herself getting killed in a hit-and-run. That happens before the opening credits. Then her marvelously malevolent widower, a movie producer (James Coburn), sets out to nail the killer. He invites six Hollywood friends for a Mediterranean cruise on his yacht. Once on board, he involves them in an elaborate game to play as an amusement. They don't know it, but the real point of the game is diabolical: to find out who killed Sheila, because Coburn knows that one of them ran her down. It happened during a party that they all attended, and they all had motives. Indeed, the point of the movie, in a way, is that everyone in heartless Hollywood has a motive to kill everyone else. Upon arrival at the yacht, he hands each of the six a card on which is written "You are a…" followed by a personal secret, something "not too light": Shoplifter, Homosexual, Ex-Convict, Informer, Little Child Molester, and Alcoholic. (S,H,E,I,L,A— though the players don't notice that because they haven't yet seen each other's cards).The game involves everyone finding out the others' assigned secrets, and first up is the Shoplifter. Each player is given the same clue– a key with "Sterling 18K" stamped on it– to find out who has the Shoplifter card. With that clue they are ferried to shore to find the answer. Without giving too much away, I can say that the Shoplifter card was assigned to James Mason, but one of the women characters was actually arrested some years earlier for shoplifting a fur coat. She therefore realizes that something more than a harmless game is afoot. The card she holds, Homosexual, is obviously someone else's real secret.Before it's all over, three characters are dead, courtesy of two others, and there are two additional murder attempts, perpetrated by separate players with separate motives.The screenplay is altogether unique, co-authored as it is by two very famous men, neither of whom wrote any other screenplays, alone or together: Stephen Sondheim and Anthony Perkins. The plot is entirely consistent with the friends' fondness for elaborate game-playing. Their dialog is brisk, witty, and delightfully vicious. Except for the predictably wooden work of Richard Benjamin, the performances are sparkling. Dyan Cannon grabs her juicy part with both hands, while Raquel Welch delivers her juicy parts in a bikini. Ultimately, though, the movie belongs to the two Jameses, Coburn and Mason. Mason's character– who shares many traits with Humbert Humbert, including the most obvious– is an aging director who ultimately unravels the mystery.Saying more means revealing more, and Sheila's tangled web is best woven before a viewer's eyes without advance knowledge. The only thing I will add is that the film was shot on location on French Riviera. The principal murder takes place in a wonderfully gloomy old site which, I suspect, is the fortified monastery of Ile Saint-Honorat, near Cannes. Gamesmanship is evident even in that choice: a suitable spot for an unholy picture about Hollywood.