Warner Bros., 1973

starring: James Coburn, Richard Benjamin, James Mason, and Raquel Welch
directed by: Herbert Ross

the plot: It’s been a year since producer Clinton Green’s (Coburn) wife, Sheila, was killed in a hit-and-run accident after a lavish party. Sheila always loved to play games, and so Clinton has devised a game of his own: he’s invited six friends aboard his yacht (named after his dead wife) for a week-long mystery game. Included in the mix is Tom (Benjamin), a struggling screenwriter looking for a new hit; Philip (Mason), a once-famous director stuck doing television commercials; and Alice (Welch), a beautiful actress with plenty of secrets. The game seems innocent enough: each participant is given an index card with a secret written on it, and each day, the group is tasked with figuring out who has what secret. But on the first day, Christine narrowly escapes death after an accident on the yacht, and the game takes a dark turn. The players discover they were at the party the night of Sheila’s death and that Clinton believes one of them to be the culprit. What no one can seem to figure out, though, is Clinton’s ultimate goal.

why it’s good: The game is the thing in “The Last of Sheila,” and the movie wastes no time in getting its cast of shady characters into position for a series of betrayals, lies and murders. We never find out much about Sheila herself, nor why Clinton cares enough about her to engineer an elaborate game, but who cares? Half the fun of watching “The Last of Sheila” is trying to play along at home by spotting all the clues, bits of stray dialogue, and other tidbits that might reveal the murderer. The screenplay, written by the seemingly unlikely pair of Anthony Perkins and Stephen Sondheim (the script is based on similar games they created for friends, albeit with much less murder, one assumes), is full of black humor and clever touches. It’s enjoyable to watch the cast bicker and snipe at each other, all while jockeying for position with Clinton, who promises a movie deal as a result of the game. Coburn is the main attraction here, but Benjamin and Mason turn out to be surprisingly compelling, as well. Keep an eye out for a very young Ian McShane, who stars as a tough talking agent who sometimes plays with hand puppets. “The Last of Sheila” takes a nice sudden turn about halfway through the film as the solution to one whodunit raises all sorts of other interesting mysteries. Nobody truly wins in the end, but “The Last of Sheila” is a game well worth watching.

why you should own it: Fans of mysteries with a streak of black humor and unexpected clever turns should have “The Last of Sheila” in their library. Warner’s DVD features commentary by Benjamin, Welch and costar Dyann Cannon. Think of it like a great murder mystery dinner theater, but without having to eat any awful prime rib.