The Last of Sheila (1973)

Oh, if only I were born early enough to attend one of Sondheim’s cocktail parties. I would’ve been engulfed in a cloud of cigarette smoke, booze fumes, and pithy remarks. 

It’s been quite a few years since I’ve seen this densely-plotted whodunit and all I could remember was a single line: “Rewrites.”

I’ll admit that after a climactic, lengthy ensemble scene in which the killer is (presumably) revealed, the film does slow way down, yet the brilliantly-performed final scene makes up for any lags in tension. 

Herbert Ross was an unassuming but terrifically adept filmmaker who understood how to get great energy from his actors. Working from the extraordinary script by the legendary Stephen Sondheim and the iconic Anthony Perkins, this is easily one of the smartest mysteries ever produced. The cast is excellent, particularly Richard Benjamin, though Dyan Cannon steals the show as a brassy talent agent based on Sue Mengers. And James Mason, while not given a great deal to do, gets to dominate the final scene and he does it with aplomb.