#the last of sheila

[nickyandmikey]

The Last of Sheila (1973) screenplay by Stephen Sondheim and Anthony Perkins

[markcoughman]

My love language is murdering people and framing them for my crimes.

[mygreatadventurehasbegun]

My Favorite New-To-Me Movies of 2023

Women Talking

This movie won the Oscar of Best Adapted Screenplay and deservedly so...it's scenes are so tightly written and delivered so beautifully by the incredible cast of actresses, that it held my attention for the entire runtime. Every performance was fantastic, and I wish at least one of them had received recognition from the Academy...personally my vote would have been for Claire Foy, but any one of them could have walked away with a nomination.

Pearl

This was such an interesting horror flick...the saturated color palette, the extreme bursts of violence and of course, the magnificent performance by Mia Goth. She was absolutely fascinating to watch...the character of Pearl is so desperate to leave her home and to become a star that she will stop at nothing to get what she wants.

They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

While I consider this to be one of the best movies I've seen this year...it's not necessarily one I'd ever want to watch again. At least not in the near future...because this movie is bleak. During the Great Depression, a group of people sign up for a dance marathon with the hope of winning the prize money. All the characters are so compelling and interesting to watch. Absolutely recommend watching it, especially for Jane Fonda's outstanding performance...but you might finish the movie a bit depressed.

Deathtrap

Man, this movie is fun. It's the kind of movie that I can't say too much about, because the plot is so full of twists...but the basic idea is: A famous playwright, coming off a string of flops, learns that his former student has written a surefire hit play, and he conspires to murder his student and take the play as his own. And you have Christopher Reeve wearing some fantastic sweaters.

Sweet Smell of Success

This movie is so good, I don't even know where to start. The performances, the writing, the cinematography...it's such a perfect example of a noir film (especially one that doesn't focus on a murder or a detective). I wasn't sure what to expect when I started, but from the moment I pressed play, I was completely engrossed.

The Last of Sheila

I really caught up on my murder mysteries this year...and The Last of Sheila is a really great one. Another movie that I can't say too much about because of it's twisty plot...but I will say you can definitely see how it influenced Rian Johnson for his Knives Out films. Also, this was co-written by Anthony Perkins and Stephen Sondheim!

Catch-22

I blind bought this one after Alan Arkin's death...I had never seen it, but thought it seemed like a fun enough film to take the gamble on. And boy, was I right! While I can see why some critics didn't love it back then, this movie is so wonderfully bonkers, I can't help but love it! The witty dialogue, clever shot composition and excellent performances by a massive cast make this movie a real treat!

Home Before Dark

This was a very random find for me...I actually just came across it on TV when it was starting and decided to stick with it (just like the olden days, get off my lawn). And while the movie itself isn't perfect, I was completely drawn in by Jean Simmons' performance. Her character has just returned home from a stay at an asylum, and while she tries to reacclimate to life at home, we start to see her lose it again...but we aren't sure if she is actually being pushed towards that breakdown intentionally. It has a few shades of the movie Gaslight, for sure.

The Collector

This may have been my favorite new-to-me movie of the year! It is such an intense and uncomfortable film, with amazing performances by the two lead actors and an ending that I did not see coming. Given the story and the setting, I could almost see this easily being turned into a stage play...I'd love to see a theater try and capture the claustrophobic feeling you get when Miranda is trapped in that cellar.

A few honorable mentions are: All Quiet on the Western Front (2022), The Thin Man, Sound of Metal, Persona and Somewhere in Time (this one mostly for the melodrama, lol)

Here's to more movies in 2024!

[sondheims-hat]

1973: Photoplay magazine.

[countesspetofi]

THE LAST OF SHEILA (1973)

[forever70s]

Ian McShane in "The Last of Sheila" (1974)

[l3fool]

The Last of Sheila, Glass Onion & homosexuality

Glass Onion had a lot of nods to The Last of Sheila as Ryan Johnson the director said so, The Last of Sheila was wrote by Anthony Perkins and Stephen Sondheim (who also had a cameo in the Glass Onion) who both are gay af

so I had thoughts about this..

In The Last of Sheila the 'homosexual' character was the most intelligent person on the board able to win the games quickly and ended up being the the villain. In the Glass Onion the homosexual character is also the most intelligent person but he is a detective and the hero of the story.

In The Last of Sheila Mr.H's homosexual past is a secret and is mentioned as a possible motive for him to kill someone in order to keep it a secret. In the Glass Onion, Benoit Blanc's homosexuality is not really part of the plot, not something deviant, not something to shock, not something to be anything but part of his personal life which the film doesn't spend a lot of time dueling upon.

Both movies are about money and it's corruption but in The Last of Sheila, Mr.H made a decision to be corrupted and have personal security by becoming a millionaire while Blanc's decision is to fight corrupted people and put himself in danger for the security of others.

It's just interesting that how society's change towards a 'less' hostile environment for gay people, lead to the change of what roles gay characters can have in a mystery story..

from the villain to the hero.

[erstwhile-punk-guerito]

[ennaih]

Not Every Film I Watch In 2024

7. The Last Of Sheila (1973)

[nine-frames]

The Last of Sheila, 1973

Dir. Herbert Ross | Writ. Anthony Perkins & Stephen Sondheim | DOP Gerry Turpin

[bpdjennamaroney]

[artistisdead]

glass onion opening with a sequence akin to the last of sheila where a group of friends called each other up to inquire abt something they received from a mutual friend of theirs then immediately after presents a scene that features sondheim playing among us? then after that, it followed a scene where the friends got together at a port? and those lil hidden in plain sight things littered all over the film you'll only notice during a fucking lengthy explanation/reveal? rian you brilliant sun of a gun alsoooo add the fact that sondheim used to host elaborate scavenger hunts at his house, yeah this film isn't just the last of sheila-inspired: miles is somehow also a 'sondheim as a brilliant game host' wannabe

[ghostswillunderstand]

Finally got around to Glass Onion. I honestly don't have much to say,  it was wonderful, exquisite, fun, funny, that cast, everything is good and great and topical and amazing, that final shot, the retro portraits in the credits.

So I am basically making this small, irrelevant post to recommend everyone who enjoyed this to watch The Last of Sheila. Rian Johnson has mentioned the film as one of his inspirations for Knives Out and it is even more apparent with Glass Onion. I'm going to skip talking about the plot of the film, it is a mystery after all, but I will say it is my favorite murder mystery/whodunnit film, the cast is beyond excellent, and it is as twisty and turny as can be.

Glass Onion actually had a few direct nods to The Last of Shelia: Stephen Sondheim(along with Anthony Perkins!) wrote The Last of Shelia and was with Angela Lansbury, Natasha Lyonne, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, playing Among Us with Blanc. And at the very end of Glass Onion, Blanc is wearing a hat with its brim folded to bring to mind a deerstalker cap, which also happens during a scene of The Last of Sheila.

There is more to say on this matter but that would involve spilling some secrets and I wouldn't want to do that to any potential viewers. I went into The Last of Sheila for the first time knowing nothing but 'It's a murder mystery' and 'Rian Johnson likes it' and it ended up being one of the best viewing experiences of my life.

[mygreatadventurehasbegun]

I love how in The Last of Sheila, they mention that Olivia de Havilland was one of the few people the titular Sheila had anything good to say about.

It's such a fun little tidbit. They could have picked anyone, but I love that they picked Olivia.

[sondheims-hat]

1973

[onmyowntwohands]