Superb, darkly and wickedly comic whodunit from screenwriters Stephen Sondheim and Anthony Perkins, with all the pieces right there for you to place. Cunning James Coburn is the movie producer and game-aficionado who invites to his yacht the failed screenwriter (Richard Benjamin),his alcoholic wife (Joan Hackett, in a sympathetic performance),the catty agent (Dyan Cannon, more wired than ever before),the starlet (Raquel Welch, looking a bit dazed),the starlet's husband (Ian McShane) and a director down-on-his-luck (James Mason, the calm-head who pays attention to the details). The only trouble with "The Last of Sheila" is that the first-half, involving a hilarious personality game, is so clever, we want more of it; the murder-mystery second-volley is an acting showpiece, but not quite as engaging. Still, these characters are a wonderfully tainted, self-absorbed lot, and Cannon's mini-breakdown after someone almost offs her is a wild bit of hysterical showing off. I also admired Welch's scene at midnight on the top deck, talking about stealing a coat (she's very seductive and charming, though she continues to whisper her dialogue throughout the film and fails to make the strong impression each of her co-stars do). The character conflicts and the reasoning behind who-does-what-to-whom doesn't bear a great deal of scrutiny (and even after several viewings, I'm still not clear on that business regarding the cabin keys); however, the picture is extremely entertaining, a verbally exciting match-of-wits by a group of Hollywood hopefuls and burn-outs. ***1/2 from ****

Great performances, marvelous dialogue and a deliciously dark sense of humour makes this one loads of fun for repeated viewings. The ensemble cast works very well together, and the brain candy never stops. And the payoff is well worth waiting for. Never has a song punctuated the final scene so well.

Exotic locales on the French Riviera form a beautiful setting for this highly complex whodunit story about six Hollywood movie insiders who agree to participate in a reality-based game to celebrate the life and tragic death of Sheila, another Hollywood insider, whom they all knew.

The game's host, Sheila's multi-millionaire husband Clinton Green (James Coburn),has devised six pretend pieces of gossip; the idea is for the participants to guess everybody's secret. As one participant says: "That's the thing about secrets; we all know stuff about each other; we just don't know the same stuff; how did (Clinton) find out? Sheila, probably." The game winner gets top billing in Clinton's forthcoming movie: "The Last Of Sheila".

The script's underlying premise is ingenious, and the story is quite well executed. The plot has more twists and turns than a corkscrew. Every scene is important in some way. The identity of the killer is not at all easy to discern. Indeed, my guess was wrong.

The film has an ensemble cast, and they all give convincing performances. I especially liked James Mason and Dyan Cannon. Color cinematography is topnotch, and includes some difficult camera shots of and on a luxury yacht. My only complaint about this film is its relative lack of suspense. I could have wished for more spooky chills. For a murder mystery, the tone is just a tad too playful.

Inadequate suspense aside, this is a terrific movie that will appeal to mystery lovers especially. It's got some classy characters and dialogue, great visuals, fine performances, and a riveting plot.