The Last of Sheila

The ensemble whodunit seems to be a lost art in today's techno-centric world of filmmaking. The 1970's was probably it's last stand, and even then it was socially irrelevant. Too bad, because they were often a good deal of fun, as this one was. Penned by Anthony Perkins (yes, that Anthony Perkins) and directed by Herbert Ross, this murder mystery has an understanding of the entertainment industry and knows how to dole out the clues. Begin with an eccentric movie producer played by James Coburn whose tabloid columnist honey was offed by a hit-and-run driver one year prior that invites a handful of celebrity types on his luxurious yacht for a week of fun in the sun. He also has a way of coming up with games (you know, to kill the time) that have more to them than meets the eye. As the genre dictates, it gets complicated and I'm not going to attempt to explain it, but suffice it to say that we the audience are provided with exactly what one should want from a good yacht-bound murder mystery including James Mason who couldn't give a bad performance if he wanted to.