The Last of Sheila – 1973
Director
Herbert Ross

Writers
Anthony Perkins
Stephen Sondheim

Cast
Richard Benjamin – James Coburn
Ian McShane – James Mason
Raquel Welch – Dyan Cannon – Joan Hackett

Review by Wayne Malin

Good,

Interesting movie of super-rich James Coburn trying to find out who accidentally killed his wife Sheila. He gets the 6 most likely suspects and invites them for a weekend of “games”. But the games are cruel and someone turns up dead. Then this turns into a whodunit.

The script is fantastic (written by Anthony Perkins (!) and Stephen Sondheim (!!)). The dialogue is believable and there are many ingenious twists and turns. There’s also a great cast at their peak–except for Raquel Welch and Dyan Cannon. Both are incredibly beautiful but Welch has never been good and Cannon is way too loud and shrill.

Keeps you guessing to the very end. Also it’s fun to see James Coburn enjoying himself in a role. And it all ends with a Bette Midler song!