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Changed line(s) 62 (click to see context) from:
** [[spoiler: Alice is seen at the airport shop fondling the stuffed toys and seems like she's considering stuffing one in her bag before she's hauled away by Anthony. (Shoplifter)
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** [[spoiler: Alice is seen at the airport shop fondling the stuffed toys and seems like she's considering stuffing one in her bag before she's hauled away by Anthony. (Shoplifter)(Shoplifter)]]
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Changed line(s) 67 (click to see context) from:
** [[spoiler: When Lee tells Tom of Clinton's invitation, he asks for a sip of her drink. She quickly moves the glass away, tells him it's ginger ale, and offers to get him glass so he can't sip it and know there's alcohol in it. (Alcoholic.)
to:
** [[spoiler: When Lee tells Tom of Clinton's invitation, he asks for a sip of her drink. She quickly moves the glass away, tells him it's ginger ale, and offers to get him glass so he can't sip it and know there's alcohol in it. (Alcoholic.))]]
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* AccidentalMurder: Subverted. [[spoiler: Lee accidentally ran over Sheila while drunk driving, and believes she accidentally murdered Clinton in a fit of rage, but he was already dead before she hit him, and she actually "murdered" his corpse.]]
Changed line(s) 24 (click to see context) from:
* AmateurSleuth: Phillip and Tom both do a decent job during their respective summations. [[spoiler:However, Tom is faking his and Phillip also tried to kill Clinton himself.]]
to:
* AllForNothing: [[spoiler: Tom kills Clinton, successfully frames Lee for the crime, and also murders her to cover his tracks so he can keep having a discreet affair with Alice and get access to Lee's net worth of $5 million. After Lee's apparent suicide, not only does Alice want nothing to do with him because he's now no longer married, but Philip figures out what Tom did and forces him to invest Lee's estate money into the budget for Clinton's proposed "The Last of Sheila" film, so Tom won't have the money he inherited to himself either.]]
* AmateurSleuth:Phillip Philip and Tom both do a decent job during their respective summations. [[spoiler:However, Tom is faking his and Phillip Philip also tried to kill Clinton himself.]]
* AmateurSleuth:
* AwesomenessByAnalysis: [[spoiler: Philip unravels Tom's extremely well concealed murders of Clinton and Lee by seeing the group picture of them posed under the Sheila's nameplate, and the six secret cards the group was presented. He uses both to analyze and figure out each intricate step of Tom's murder/frame-up plot.]]
* BaitAndSwitch: The film opens with Clinton's wife Sheila being accidentally run over and killed by a drunk driver. [[spoiler: The audience is led to believe that the film is going to be an elaborate mystery to figure out Sheila's killer. It isn't.]]
* BaitAndSwitch: The film opens with Clinton's wife Sheila being accidentally run over and killed by a drunk driver. [[spoiler: The audience is led to believe that the film is going to be an elaborate mystery to figure out Sheila's killer. It isn't.]]
Changed line(s) 28 (click to see context) from:
* {{Bathos}}: In the climax, Phillip gives Tom a rundown on how Phillip worked out [[spoiler:that Tom was the mastermind behind Clinton and Lee's deaths. The tension mounts as he tries to discreetly either summon help (unsuccessfully) or find a way out of the main saloon (also unsuccessfully). Tom then approaches Phillip with deathly intent in his eyes, whips out his hands from behind his back... which are wearing the {{hand puppet}}s that Anthony was wearing earlier. Tom apologetically mutters that he 'didn't bring gloves', and then proceeds to strange Phillip]].
to:
* {{Bathos}}: In the climax, Phillip Philip gives Tom a rundown on how Phillip Philip worked out [[spoiler:that Tom was the mastermind behind Clinton and Lee's deaths. The tension mounts as he tries to discreetly either summon help (unsuccessfully) or find a way out of the main saloon (also unsuccessfully). Tom then approaches Phillip Philip with deathly intent in his eyes, whips out his hands from behind his back... which are wearing the {{hand puppet}}s that Anthony was wearing earlier. Tom apologetically mutters that he 'didn't bring gloves', and then proceeds to strange Phillip]].Philip]].
* BlackmailBackfire: Subverted. [[spoiler: The game Clinton has devised seems to be all about outing the person he suspects ran her over and killed her. When Clinton is murdered, it seems that the game has gone awry and that he was murdered by the person who ran Sheila over because of his attempt to out them as Sheila's killer. In the end, this was just a ruse devised by Tom to kill Clinton, and frame his wife for Clinton's murder.]]
* BlatantLies: [[spoiler: Tom's entire second act "deduction" is a complete fabrication to cover up that he himself murdered Clinton, framed Lee for it, and then later killed her and staged it as a suicide.]]
* BlackmailBackfire: Subverted. [[spoiler: The game Clinton has devised seems to be all about outing the person he suspects ran her over and killed her. When Clinton is murdered, it seems that the game has gone awry and that he was murdered by the person who ran Sheila over because of his attempt to out them as Sheila's killer. In the end, this was just a ruse devised by Tom to kill Clinton, and frame his wife for Clinton's murder.]]
* BlatantLies: [[spoiler: Tom's entire second act "deduction" is a complete fabrication to cover up that he himself murdered Clinton, framed Lee for it, and then later killed her and staged it as a suicide.]]
* Bookends: The main plot starts off with Clinton assembling the party under the "Sheila" nameplate on Clinton's yacht, and ends with a closeup of that same photo he took.
* BrickJoke: After boarding, Christine is not very subtle about wanting to get into cabin boy Guido's pants. [[spoiler: After she reveals she's also on board the yacht at the end when she interrupts Tom's attempted murder of Philip, Guido pops up beside her, revealing that she was on board because she was successfully getting into Guido's pants.]]
* BrickJoke: After boarding, Christine is not very subtle about wanting to get into cabin boy Guido's pants. [[spoiler: After she reveals she's also on board the yacht at the end when she interrupts Tom's attempted murder of Philip, Guido pops up beside her, revealing that she was on board because she was successfully getting into Guido's pants.]]
Changed line(s) 31,32 (click to see context) from:
* CelebrityParadox: The TV in the room where Clinton is waiting for his guests is playing ''Film/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea'', which stars Creator/JamesMason, the actor who plays Phillip.
* ChekhovsGun: The photo Clinton takes of his guests before they set sail (as seen in the page image). Also, [[spoiler:the actual name of the movie itself! The 'last of Sheila', taken literally, is the letter 'A', which is the card that Tom swapped out to make his spontaneous plot work, and later gives Phillip the clue he needs to work out the ''real'' story]]. In addition, the {{hand puppet}}s that Anthony plays with early in the film [[spoiler:come back at the climax when Tom tries to strangle Phillip with them]], as does the intercom that Clinton uses to eavesdrop on his guests, [[spoiler:through which Alice is alerted to Tom's attempt to strangle Phillip]].
* ChekhovsGun: The photo Clinton takes of his guests before they set sail (as seen in the page image). Also, [[spoiler:the actual name of the movie itself! The 'last of Sheila', taken literally, is the letter 'A', which is the card that Tom swapped out to make his spontaneous plot work, and later gives Phillip the clue he needs to work out the ''real'' story]]. In addition, the {{hand puppet}}s that Anthony plays with early in the film [[spoiler:come back at the climax when Tom tries to strangle Phillip with them]], as does the intercom that Clinton uses to eavesdrop on his guests, [[spoiler:through which Alice is alerted to Tom's attempt to strangle Phillip]].
to:
* CastingGag: Dyan Cannon plays a character based on her real-life agent, Sue Mengers. Also, Alice is played by Raquel Welch, who, unknown to her, was playing a character that was actually based on Welch herself.
** Creator/JamesMason plays a director [[spoiler: who is also stated to have been a child molester. He played a similar role years earlier as Humbert Humbert in the film adaptation of "Lolita.]]
* CelebrityParadox: The TV in the room where Clinton is waiting for his guests is playing ''Film/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea'', which stars Creator/JamesMason, the actor who playsPhillip.
Philip.
* ChekhovsGun: The photo Clinton takes of his guests before they set sail (as seen in the page image). Also, [[spoiler:the actual name of the movie itself! The 'last of Sheila', taken literally, is the letter 'A', which is the card that Tom swapped out to make his spontaneous plot work, and later givesPhillip Philip the clue he needs to work out the ''real'' story]]. In addition, the {{hand puppet}}s that Anthony plays with early in the film [[spoiler:come back at the climax when Tom tries to strangle Phillip with them]], as does the intercom that Clinton uses to eavesdrop on his guests, [[spoiler:through which Alice Christine is alerted to Tom's attempt to strangle Phillip]].Philip, and stops him from doing so]].
* ChekhovsGunman: [[spoiler: Philip. For most of the film, he seems to be along for the ride, and then in the middle act, it seems that Tom is the one that has figured everything out. Then Philip spends the last act of the movie explaining to the real killer (Tom) how they did it and how he figured it out.]]
** Creator/JamesMason plays a director [[spoiler: who is also stated to have been a child molester. He played a similar role years earlier as Humbert Humbert in the film adaptation of "Lolita.]]
* CelebrityParadox: The TV in the room where Clinton is waiting for his guests is playing ''Film/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea'', which stars Creator/JamesMason, the actor who plays
* ChekhovsGun: The photo Clinton takes of his guests before they set sail (as seen in the page image). Also, [[spoiler:the actual name of the movie itself! The 'last of Sheila', taken literally, is the letter 'A', which is the card that Tom swapped out to make his spontaneous plot work, and later gives
* ChekhovsGunman: [[spoiler: Philip. For most of the film, he seems to be along for the ride, and then in the middle act, it seems that Tom is the one that has figured everything out. Then Philip spends the last act of the movie explaining to the real killer (Tom) how they did it and how he figured it out.]]
Changed line(s) 34,36 (click to see context) from:
* CigaretteOfAnxiety: Lee has to sit down and have a smoke right after she [[spoiler:kills Clinton in a fit of rage]].
* ConvenientPhotograph: {{Invoked|Trope}} in the photograph that Clinton takes of his guests before they set sail, which is set up [[spoiler:by Clinton to clue them in on the solution to his game]].
* CruelMercy: [[spoiler:After Tom is revealed to be the killer and his attempt to murder Phillip is thwarted, Phillip decides not to turn him over to the police... in return for Tom being forced to finance the production of ''The Last of Sheila'' (with the money he obtained by killing Lee), but being creatively relegated to script "rewrites" (which he loathes doing).]]
* ConvenientPhotograph: {{Invoked|Trope}} in the photograph that Clinton takes of his guests before they set sail, which is set up [[spoiler:by Clinton to clue them in on the solution to his game]].
* CruelMercy: [[spoiler:After Tom is revealed to be the killer and his attempt to murder Phillip is thwarted, Phillip decides not to turn him over to the police... in return for Tom being forced to finance the production of ''The Last of Sheila'' (with the money he obtained by killing Lee), but being creatively relegated to script "rewrites" (which he loathes doing).]]
to:
* CigaretteOfAnxiety: Lee has to sit down and have a smoke right after she [[spoiler:kills Clinton in a fit of rage]].
rage, though we later find out she actually "murdered" Clinton's corpse, and he was dead before she even got there]].
* ConvenientPhotograph: {{Invoked|Trope}} in the photograph that Clinton takes of his guests before they set sail, which is set up [[spoiler:by Clinton to clue them in on the solution to hisgame]].
game. It later helps Philip unravel the entire mystery]].
* CruelMercy: [[spoiler:After Tom is revealed to be the killer and his attempt to murderPhillip Philip is thwarted, Phillip Philip decides not to turn him over to the police... in return for Tom being forced to finance the production of ''The Last of Sheila'' (with the money he obtained by killing Lee), but being creatively relegated to script "rewrites" (which he loathes doing).doing) and serving as a lowly technical advisor on set.]]
* ConvenientPhotograph: {{Invoked|Trope}} in the photograph that Clinton takes of his guests before they set sail, which is set up [[spoiler:by Clinton to clue them in on the solution to his
* CruelMercy: [[spoiler:After Tom is revealed to be the killer and his attempt to murder
* DeadpanSnarker: Clinton and Philip, to a tee.
* DecoyProtagonist: And how. [[spoiler: The entire first act of the movie sets up the film as Clinton's efforts to flush out the person who killed Sheila. We see the flashback to her death, he specifically invites (save for Lee, though she was invited, she just never showed up) people who were at the party he threw the night of Sheila's death, and every line he speaks is often dripping with innuendo. He's even played by Creator/JamesCoburn, who aside from Creator/JamesMason is arguably the biggest name in the film's cast. Clinton just screams that he's the film's protagonist. Then he gets killed at the halfway point of the movie, leaving the rest of the cast to sort out who killed him, and also seemingly determine who killed Sheila. This is even a further decoy when we find out that Clinton's purpose was to just be a jerk to his friends and he wasn't trying to flush out Sheila's killer at all. In fact, his death was more or less collateral damage so the killer could get rid of his wife.]]
* DestroyTheEvidence: [[spoiler: After believing she killed Clinton by striking him in the face, Lee drops a large stone on his head to cover up that damage and make his death look like an accident.]]
* DetectiveMole: Played with. [[spoiler: In Philip's final deduction of the real truth behind Clinton's murder and Lee's suicide, Philip recruits Tom as his Dr. Watson, not realizing at first that Tom is the actual killer. Once he figures out that Tom was behind it all, he drops the facade entirely.]]
* DecoyProtagonist: And how. [[spoiler: The entire first act of the movie sets up the film as Clinton's efforts to flush out the person who killed Sheila. We see the flashback to her death, he specifically invites (save for Lee, though she was invited, she just never showed up) people who were at the party he threw the night of Sheila's death, and every line he speaks is often dripping with innuendo. He's even played by Creator/JamesCoburn, who aside from Creator/JamesMason is arguably the biggest name in the film's cast. Clinton just screams that he's the film's protagonist. Then he gets killed at the halfway point of the movie, leaving the rest of the cast to sort out who killed him, and also seemingly determine who killed Sheila. This is even a further decoy when we find out that Clinton's purpose was to just be a jerk to his friends and he wasn't trying to flush out Sheila's killer at all. In fact, his death was more or less collateral damage so the killer could get rid of his wife.]]
* DestroyTheEvidence: [[spoiler: After believing she killed Clinton by striking him in the face, Lee drops a large stone on his head to cover up that damage and make his death look like an accident.]]
* DetectiveMole: Played with. [[spoiler: In Philip's final deduction of the real truth behind Clinton's murder and Lee's suicide, Philip recruits Tom as his Dr. Watson, not realizing at first that Tom is the actual killer. Once he figures out that Tom was behind it all, he drops the facade entirely.]]
* DidntThinkThisThrough: [[spoiler: Philip unwittingly recruits Tom, the actual killer of Clinton and Lee, to help him unravel the truth behind their deaths, as he doesn't feel Tom's solution to the mystery feels right. Then, after Tom disappears below decks, and Philip deduces what really happened, and Tom's involvement, he simply triggers the button to call the crew from their quarters, assuming they're on-board, makes a drink, lights a cigarette, and smugly starts to explain to Tom how Tom committed the crimes after Tom returns to the main saloon. Unbeknownst to Philip, he and Tom are apparently alone on board, and Tom has locked all the exits from the main saloon from the outside, trapping Philip in there. The more Philip reveals, the more creepily and threateningly Tom begins to behave towards Philip, to the point that Philip realizes the danger he's in and starts actively (and secretly) trying to open the locked doors, and casually gives the all-page tone throughout the crew decks multiple times to try and call the crew for assistance...Which never comes. Philip, finally realizing that Tom doesn't intend to let him live, tries to convince Tom that murdering him on a spur-of-the-moment whim will be nearly impossible to cover up, unlike the murders of Clinton and Lee, but Tom is having none of it and reveals that the entire crew is off-board celebrating the death of Clinton, (Which is why there was no response to Philip's pressing the button to call the crew multiple times) so they are alone, and he also reveals that he snagged Anthony's hand puppets when he went below decks so he could wear them to obscure his fingerprints and murder Philip as well. Philip's resolve breaks and he runs to the one door he hasn't tried, but it's locked, and Tom begins to physically assault him and attempt to violently strangle him. The only thing that saves Philip from being Tom's third victim is when Christine reveals she's also on board with Guido, and Tom realizes he can't murder three more people and get away with it.]]
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: [[spoiler: Clinton's death at the film's halfway point. Not only does it happen off-screen, (And we only see the truth later, in flashbacks) the death is even set up as accidental from a falling stone until it's determined that he was actually murdered. Since the role is played by Creator/JamesCoburn, it's initially an anti-climactic stunner until we see the truth.]]
* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler: While Philip is a bit of a JerkAss who attempted to kill Clinton over the secrets Clinton was revealing, he has a close relationship with Lee, figures out her husband's involvement in Lee's death, forces Tom to give up all of Lee's money to finance Clinton's "Last of Sheila" film, and guarantees himself a comeback as a prominent director, while giving Tom the CruelMercy of avoiding a life in prison but remaining a penniless has-been who is locked into doing rewrites likely for the rest of his career.]]
* EngineeredPublicConfession: [[spoiler: Tom knows Lee ran over Sheila, convinces her that Clinton's game is designed to out her, and, due to her explosive rage in a solo confrontation with Clinton's corpse, gets her to believe she killed Clinton herself. He then plays amateur sleuth with all that knowledge, getting the others to confess which secret cards belong to them, pretending he's unaware that Lee is the killer. When it's down to two cards, one of them being "You Are a Hit-And-Run Killer," Lee drunkenly confesses that she ran Shelia over while drunk and confesses to Clinton's killing, believing she herself killed him.]]
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: [[spoiler: Clinton's death at the film's halfway point. Not only does it happen off-screen, (And we only see the truth later, in flashbacks) the death is even set up as accidental from a falling stone until it's determined that he was actually murdered. Since the role is played by Creator/JamesCoburn, it's initially an anti-climactic stunner until we see the truth.]]
* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler: While Philip is a bit of a JerkAss who attempted to kill Clinton over the secrets Clinton was revealing, he has a close relationship with Lee, figures out her husband's involvement in Lee's death, forces Tom to give up all of Lee's money to finance Clinton's "Last of Sheila" film, and guarantees himself a comeback as a prominent director, while giving Tom the CruelMercy of avoiding a life in prison but remaining a penniless has-been who is locked into doing rewrites likely for the rest of his career.]]
* EngineeredPublicConfession: [[spoiler: Tom knows Lee ran over Sheila, convinces her that Clinton's game is designed to out her, and, due to her explosive rage in a solo confrontation with Clinton's corpse, gets her to believe she killed Clinton herself. He then plays amateur sleuth with all that knowledge, getting the others to confess which secret cards belong to them, pretending he's unaware that Lee is the killer. When it's down to two cards, one of them being "You Are a Hit-And-Run Killer," Lee drunkenly confesses that she ran Shelia over while drunk and confesses to Clinton's killing, believing she herself killed him.]]
Changed line(s) 40 (click to see context) from:
* {{Fanservice}}: Alice and Christine spend a goodly chunk of the movie lounging around the yacht in their bikinis.
to:
* {{Fanservice}}: Alice and Christine spend a goodly chunk of the movie lounging around the yacht in their bikinis. Lee does as well, though her bikini is a bit more modest.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: [[spoiler: The film reveals every one of the character's secrets in subtle ways long before they claim a card.]]
** [[spoiler: Alice is seen at the airport shop fondling the stuffed toys and seems like she's considering stuffing one in her bag before she's hauled away by Anthony. (Shoplifter)
** [[spoiler: Tom and Clinton in the black and white photograph in an uncomfortbly close pose with their croquet mallets crossed. (Homosexual)]]
** [[spoiler: Anthony getting fed up with the guy at the airport trying to pawn off the bottle of liquor to Alice as they're trying to leave and knocking the guy down and breaking the bottle. (Ex-convict. Convicted of assault)]]
** [[spoiler: After swearing to keep Clinton's party plans a secret, Christine hangs up the phone and immediately tells her associate to leak the story to the press and disguse her voice. (Informer)]]
** [[spoiler: Philip doing a dog food commercial with child actresses. One even gets into his lap as he's on the phone to his wife. (Little Child Molester)]]
** [[spoiler: When Lee tells Tom of Clinton's invitation, he asks for a sip of her drink. She quickly moves the glass away, tells him it's ginger ale, and offers to get him glass so he can't sip it and know there's alcohol in it. (Alcoholic.)
** One bit of foreshadowing seems completely morbid until the film subverts it. [[spoiler: When Tom comes to take Lee to bed on their first night on the yacht, Lee says, "I'd kill myself for a hot bath. Clinton has the only tub." Later in the film, she's found dead from an apparent suicide in Clinton's bathtub. Subverted when the flashbacks reveal Tom put her in the bath himself, and slit her wrists to stage it as a suicide.]]
** [[spoiler: Alice is seen at the airport shop fondling the stuffed toys and seems like she's considering stuffing one in her bag before she's hauled away by Anthony. (Shoplifter)
** [[spoiler: Tom and Clinton in the black and white photograph in an uncomfortbly close pose with their croquet mallets crossed. (Homosexual)]]
** [[spoiler: Anthony getting fed up with the guy at the airport trying to pawn off the bottle of liquor to Alice as they're trying to leave and knocking the guy down and breaking the bottle. (Ex-convict. Convicted of assault)]]
** [[spoiler: After swearing to keep Clinton's party plans a secret, Christine hangs up the phone and immediately tells her associate to leak the story to the press and disguse her voice. (Informer)]]
** [[spoiler: Philip doing a dog food commercial with child actresses. One even gets into his lap as he's on the phone to his wife. (Little Child Molester)]]
** [[spoiler: When Lee tells Tom of Clinton's invitation, he asks for a sip of her drink. She quickly moves the glass away, tells him it's ginger ale, and offers to get him glass so he can't sip it and know there's alcohol in it. (Alcoholic.)
** One bit of foreshadowing seems completely morbid until the film subverts it. [[spoiler: When Tom comes to take Lee to bed on their first night on the yacht, Lee says, "I'd kill myself for a hot bath. Clinton has the only tub." Later in the film, she's found dead from an apparent suicide in Clinton's bathtub. Subverted when the flashbacks reveal Tom put her in the bath himself, and slit her wrists to stage it as a suicide.]]
* GenreSavvy: [[spoiler: Philip, a director, at the beginning of his third act summation of what really happened with Clinton and Lee's death's refers to his own summation as "The Director's Cut."]]
Changed line(s) 44 (click to see context) from:
* HalfwayPlotSwitch: Starts out as a comedy about a complex ScavengerHunt-type game, then turns into a murder mystery.
to:
* HalfwayPlotSwitch: Starts out as a comedy about a complex ScavengerHunt-type game, then turns into a murder mystery.mystery, then turns into a mystery to unravel the seeming solution arrived at in the film's second act.
Changed line(s) 46 (click to see context) from:
* HorribleHollywood: The main characters are all either selfish, ladder-climbing venal Hollywood types or selfish, successful venal Hollywood types. The film ends with [[spoiler:two people deciding to let a double murderer go free as long as they can get a movie produced as part of the deal]].
to:
* HiddenDepths: [[spoiler: Philip, one of the characters who most seems to be along for the ride, is the one who deduces the true solution to the entire mystery.]]
* HorribleHollywood: The main characters are all either selfish, ladder-climbing venal Hollywood types or selfish, successful venal Hollywood types. The film ends with [[spoiler:two people deciding to let a double murderer go free as long as they can get a movie produced as part of thedeal]].deal. To be fair, while they are enriching themselves, they're also sticking the murderer with a FateWorseThanDeath]].
* IdiotBall: [[spoiler: For all of his intelligence, Philip comes close to running with it when he ropes in Tom (who killed Clinton and Lee) to help him ferret out the true solution to the mystery in the third act. To be fair, he didn't know at the start of his summation that Tom was the actual killer, but after he does figure it out, he simply presses the crew call button to sound the tone in the crew's quarters, smugly makes a drink, lights a cigarette, and waits for Tom's return to explain what he's figured out, not considering that if Tom has already murdered at least once, he won't be afraid to murder Philip to keep his secrets safe if he has to. To his credit, Philip manages to figure out quickly that he's holding the idiot ball and makes efforts to save himself, but the crew is apparently all off board and Tom has locked him in the main saloon so Philip can't run for safety. Tom makes a pretty strong go of throttling Philip once Philip has revealed he knows all. It's only Christine and Guido's surprise presence on the yacht that saves him from being a third victim.]]
* InheritanceMurder: [[spoiler: Tom initially frames, and then kills, Lee in part so he can inherit the $5 million that she's worth.]]
* InspectorLestrade: [[spoiler: Philip occasionally assumes this role during Tom's summation of Clinton's murder. Tom returns the favor as Philip starts to work out the REAL truth behind Clinton and Lee's deaths.]]
* IntergenerationalFriendship: Philip and Lee. Lee thanks Philip for always being nice to her as a child. Philip lampshades this with a comment that he still remembers her sitting on Olivia De Havilland's lap. [[Though with the reveal that Philip's secret is that he was a "Little Child Molester," it does shed some questioning light on whether or not that was why Philip is so nice to her. However, Lee and Philip's friendship appears completely genuine, and there's no hint that Philip ever tried to do anything to Lee as a child.]]
* HorribleHollywood: The main characters are all either selfish, ladder-climbing venal Hollywood types or selfish, successful venal Hollywood types. The film ends with [[spoiler:two people deciding to let a double murderer go free as long as they can get a movie produced as part of the
* IdiotBall: [[spoiler: For all of his intelligence, Philip comes close to running with it when he ropes in Tom (who killed Clinton and Lee) to help him ferret out the true solution to the mystery in the third act. To be fair, he didn't know at the start of his summation that Tom was the actual killer, but after he does figure it out, he simply presses the crew call button to sound the tone in the crew's quarters, smugly makes a drink, lights a cigarette, and waits for Tom's return to explain what he's figured out, not considering that if Tom has already murdered at least once, he won't be afraid to murder Philip to keep his secrets safe if he has to. To his credit, Philip manages to figure out quickly that he's holding the idiot ball and makes efforts to save himself, but the crew is apparently all off board and Tom has locked him in the main saloon so Philip can't run for safety. Tom makes a pretty strong go of throttling Philip once Philip has revealed he knows all. It's only Christine and Guido's surprise presence on the yacht that saves him from being a third victim.]]
* InheritanceMurder: [[spoiler: Tom initially frames, and then kills, Lee in part so he can inherit the $5 million that she's worth.]]
* InspectorLestrade: [[spoiler: Philip occasionally assumes this role during Tom's summation of Clinton's murder. Tom returns the favor as Philip starts to work out the REAL truth behind Clinton and Lee's deaths.]]
* IntergenerationalFriendship: Philip and Lee. Lee thanks Philip for always being nice to her as a child. Philip lampshades this with a comment that he still remembers her sitting on Olivia De Havilland's lap. [[Though with the reveal that Philip's secret is that he was a "Little Child Molester," it does shed some questioning light on whether or not that was why Philip is so nice to her. However, Lee and Philip's friendship appears completely genuine, and there's no hint that Philip ever tried to do anything to Lee as a child.]]
* JerkAssHasAPoint: While Clinton's game is a bit ruthless in that it is designed to expose a number of the players' darker secrets, they're all hangers on, has-beens or never-weres, desperate to use the successful Clinton to capture, or re-capture, their success, and he knows that they'll play the game because he's promised they'll reap the rewards if they do well upon the successful completion of the game.
** Also, Philip. [[spoiler: He does make an attempt on Clinton's life to keep the secrets from being revealed, but he demonstrates he's very close to the group outsider, Lee, and seems quite heartbroken at her death. He manages to out Tom as her killer, and punishes Tom in a way that also allows him to enrich himself.]]
* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: [[spoiler: Tom. Not only does he know Lee killed Sheila, he doesn't report it to the police, and ends up using it as a wedge to drive his wife to the breaking point by convincing her the entire purpose of the game Clinton invited them to is to flush her out as Sheila's killer. Not only does Tom murder Clinton, He allows Lee, who hit his corpse with a big floor candlestick, to believe that SHE was the one that killed Clinton. After she successfully makes his death look accidental by hitting the corpse's head with a falling stone from the castle they're in, Tom muddies her efforts by swapping the stone with one from the bottom of the wall to make it look exactly like what Lee was trying to avoid. A cover up of a murder, because the stone was located too close to the ground to have fallen on Clinton's head. Tom then plays amateur detective when the group assembles to work out the mystery, "accidentally" revealing his wife as responsible for Sheila's death and as being Clinton's killer. Knowing she's an alcoholic, he drugs the yacht's bourbon, since she's the only one that drinks it, waits for her to pass out, then carries her to Clinton's cabin, drops her in the bathtub, and SLITS HER WRISTS to make it appear that she committed suicide out of guilt. He does all this because he had an affair with Alice and wants the affair to continue, and because he's bored of Lee and wants her $5 million net worth. Even worse, initially Tom was just going to frame Lee for Clinton's murder. After she blows up and believes she murdered Clinton herself, Tom takes the opportunity to simply kill her and fake it as a suicide rather than deal with an arrest and trial. Tom even attempts to kill Philip after Philip manages to figure out how Tom did it all, and is only saved because Christine remained on board to sleep with a cabin boy and is thus an eyewitness to Tom's crimes.]]
* KillTheCute: [[spoiler: While she did run over Sheila, Lee was drunk and it was purely an accident. Despite all of this, Lee is the most generous and sweet member of the group, never attempts to stab anyone in the back, and truly loves her husband, Tom. Tom rewards her for this by framing her for Clinton's murder, murdering Lee, and staging it as though she committed suicide.]]
* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: [[spoiler: Tom. Not only does he know Lee killed Sheila, he doesn't report it to the police, and ends up using it as a wedge to drive his wife to the breaking point by convincing her the entire purpose of the game Clinton invited them to is to flush her out as Sheila's killer. Not only does Tom murder Clinton, He allows Lee, who hit his corpse with a big floor candlestick, to believe that SHE was the one that killed Clinton. After she successfully makes his death look accidental by hitting the corpse's head with a falling stone from the castle they're in, Tom muddies her efforts by swapping the stone with one from the bottom of the wall to make it look exactly like what Lee was trying to avoid. A cover up of a murder, because the stone was located too close to the ground to have fallen on Clinton's head. Tom then plays amateur detective when the group assembles to work out the mystery, "accidentally" revealing his wife as responsible for Sheila's death and as being Clinton's killer. Knowing she's an alcoholic, he drugs the yacht's bourbon, since she's the only one that drinks it, waits for her to pass out, then carries her to Clinton's cabin, drops her in the bathtub, and SLITS HER WRISTS to make it appear that she committed suicide out of guilt. He does all this because he had an affair with Alice and wants the affair to continue, and because he's bored of Lee and wants her $5 million net worth. Even worse, initially Tom was just going to frame Lee for Clinton's murder. After she blows up and believes she murdered Clinton herself, Tom takes the opportunity to simply kill her and fake it as a suicide rather than deal with an arrest and trial. Tom even attempts to kill Philip after Philip manages to figure out how Tom did it all, and is only saved because Christine remained on board to sleep with a cabin boy and is thus an eyewitness to Tom's crimes.]]
* KillTheCute: [[spoiler: While she did run over Sheila, Lee was drunk and it was purely an accident. Despite all of this, Lee is the most generous and sweet member of the group, never attempts to stab anyone in the back, and truly loves her husband, Tom. Tom rewards her for this by framing her for Clinton's murder, murdering Lee, and staging it as though she committed suicide.]]
Changed line(s) 52 (click to see context) from:
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: A lot of this, as the characters are all movie people who call out the story beats as if they're in a movie. When they reach the abandoned monastery, they compliment the set design. When Phillip is explaining how the whole mystery went down, he says "{{Dissolve}}", and the scene dissolves to the next scene.
to:
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: A lot of this, as the characters are all movie people who call out the story beats as if they're in a movie. When they reach the abandoned monastery, they compliment the set design. [[spoiler: When Phillip Philip is explaining how the whole mystery went down, he says "{{Dissolve}}", and the scene dissolves to the next scene.]]
* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: [[spoiler: Lee does this after she seemingly kills Clinton, by dropping a heavy stone on Clinton's face and making it appear he was killed by the large falling stone from the crumbling stone church.]]
* MeaningfulBackgroundEvent: As Philip [[spoiler: begins to reveal how Tom did it, we see Tom, from behind, as he casually drops Anthony's hand puppets on the couch next to him, without Philip noticing. After Philip reveals all, Tom JumpScares into an upright position on the couch with the hand puppets on his hands, telling Philip he didn't have any gloves, and revealing he intends to use them to cover his prints in Philip's murder.]]
** Also, [[spoiler: as Philip looks at the photograph and the clue cards, we see someone locking the outside doors. This is revealed to have been Tom, locking Philip in the saloon so he couldn't escape and Tom could strangle him.]]
* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: [[spoiler: Lee does this after she seemingly kills Clinton, by dropping a heavy stone on Clinton's face and making it appear he was killed by the large falling stone from the crumbling stone church.]]
* MeaningfulBackgroundEvent: As Philip [[spoiler: begins to reveal how Tom did it, we see Tom, from behind, as he casually drops Anthony's hand puppets on the couch next to him, without Philip noticing. After Philip reveals all, Tom JumpScares into an upright position on the couch with the hand puppets on his hands, telling Philip he didn't have any gloves, and revealing he intends to use them to cover his prints in Philip's murder.]]
** Also, [[spoiler: as Philip looks at the photograph and the clue cards, we see someone locking the outside doors. This is revealed to have been Tom, locking Philip in the saloon so he couldn't escape and Tom could strangle him.]]
Changed line(s) 54,55 (click to see context) from:
* MsFanservice: Christine wears bikinis for a large amount of her screen time and has a good body for it.
* NecroCam: Used when Phillip explains the extremely complicated murder solution to Tom.
* NecroCam: Used when Phillip explains the extremely complicated murder solution to Tom.
to:
* MsFanservice: Christine wears and Alice wear bikinis for a large decent amount of her their screen time time.
* MurderIsTheBestSolution: [[spoiler: Tom's initial plan is to just kill Clinton and frame Lee for it. Based on Lee's many mistakes after Clinton's death (including striking his corpse herself and believing she was Clinton's true murderer,) she makes a drunken confession and isolates herself in her cabin. Since her words and actions convinced everyone she's suicidal, Tom waits for her to pass out, then murders her, staging it as a suicide, avoiding any trial and getting access to all her money.]]
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Subverted. [[spoiler: Tom plays this up when he "reveals" Lee ran over Sheila and "accidentally" reveals she murdered Clinton. It was intentional, and Tom murdered Clinton himself, he just let Lee believe she did.]]
** Played straight with [[spoiler: Lee. After she rams the large floor candlestick through the priest's box window and Clinton's corpse falls out with his face mangled from the blow, Lee has this terrified reaction and even has to smoke agood body for it.
cigarette to calm her nerves. She never for moment realizes Clinton was already dead before she hit him.]]
* NecroCam: Used whenPhillip Philip explains the extremely complicated murder solution to Tom.Tom.
* NeverOneMurder: [[spoiler: Tom murders Clinton, then murders Lee because it's convenient.]]
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler: By confronting Tom alone, Philip gives Tom the perfect opportunity to murder him to silence him, and Tom very nearly does.]]
* NiceToTheWaiter: Christine is very nice to Guido, the yacht's cabin boy. Granted, she's trying to get into his pants, but she's nice about it.
* MurderIsTheBestSolution: [[spoiler: Tom's initial plan is to just kill Clinton and frame Lee for it. Based on Lee's many mistakes after Clinton's death (including striking his corpse herself and believing she was Clinton's true murderer,) she makes a drunken confession and isolates herself in her cabin. Since her words and actions convinced everyone she's suicidal, Tom waits for her to pass out, then murders her, staging it as a suicide, avoiding any trial and getting access to all her money.]]
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Subverted. [[spoiler: Tom plays this up when he "reveals" Lee ran over Sheila and "accidentally" reveals she murdered Clinton. It was intentional, and Tom murdered Clinton himself, he just let Lee believe she did.]]
** Played straight with [[spoiler: Lee. After she rams the large floor candlestick through the priest's box window and Clinton's corpse falls out with his face mangled from the blow, Lee has this terrified reaction and even has to smoke a
* NecroCam: Used when
* NeverOneMurder: [[spoiler: Tom murders Clinton, then murders Lee because it's convenient.]]
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler: By confronting Tom alone, Philip gives Tom the perfect opportunity to murder him to silence him, and Tom very nearly does.]]
* NiceToTheWaiter: Christine is very nice to Guido, the yacht's cabin boy. Granted, she's trying to get into his pants, but she's nice about it.
* NotableNonSequitur: The film is loaded with them.
** [[spoiler: Clinton telling the group they don't have to do anything to play the game "You won't have to, IF you're smart enough." It's because the photo he took of all of them under the "Sheila's" nameplate has them posted under the initial letters of each of their secret cards. If they look at the photograph, they can deduce who has what card without having to leave the yacht.]]
** [[spoiler: Tom being the last person seen using the icepick before it disappears.]]
** [[spoiler: Tom while mimicking Clinton's voice, which is a key plot point later. "Well. Hi ho, gang. Going over your hand signals for the bridge tournament?"
** [[spoiler: Tom asking Lee if she remembers Alice being arrested for taking something from a shop. I.E., the shoplifter secret card.]]
** [[spoiler: Clinton's glassy-eyed reveal to Christine, which the audience discovers was a clue that Clinton was already dead even before Christine shows up.]]
** [[spoiler: Christine subtly reveals the former without realizing it, remarking about the glazed, far-away expression in his eyes.]]
** [[spoiler: "She was in AA once." (Lee)]]
** spoiler: [[spoiler: Philip, observing Lee's bourbon bottle being tossed out of the porthole in Lee's cabin into the ocean, to hide that it was drugged by Tom.]]
* OhCrap: [[spoiler: Lee, after she thinks she killed Clinton.]]
** [[spoiler: Philip, when Tom reveals he's wearing Anthony's hand puppets to strangle him because he doesn't have any gloves. Philip's response is to say, "Oh," and make a run for it.]]
* OlderAndWiser: Philip. [[spoiler: He's one of the best players at Clinton's game, and even when Tom, who came up with a perfectly logical and complete solution to the murder of Clinton, and the deaths of Sheila and Lee, Philip sees through the flaws, and then, after laying eyes on the photo Clinton took of the group, is able to systematically tear apart each one of Tom's well-constructed lies to determine the REAL solution.]]
** [[spoiler: Clinton telling the group they don't have to do anything to play the game "You won't have to, IF you're smart enough." It's because the photo he took of all of them under the "Sheila's" nameplate has them posted under the initial letters of each of their secret cards. If they look at the photograph, they can deduce who has what card without having to leave the yacht.]]
** [[spoiler: Tom being the last person seen using the icepick before it disappears.]]
** [[spoiler: Tom while mimicking Clinton's voice, which is a key plot point later. "Well. Hi ho, gang. Going over your hand signals for the bridge tournament?"
** [[spoiler: Tom asking Lee if she remembers Alice being arrested for taking something from a shop. I.E., the shoplifter secret card.]]
** [[spoiler: Clinton's glassy-eyed reveal to Christine, which the audience discovers was a clue that Clinton was already dead even before Christine shows up.]]
** [[spoiler: Christine subtly reveals the former without realizing it, remarking about the glazed, far-away expression in his eyes.]]
** [[spoiler: "She was in AA once." (Lee)]]
** spoiler: [[spoiler: Philip, observing Lee's bourbon bottle being tossed out of the porthole in Lee's cabin into the ocean, to hide that it was drugged by Tom.]]
* OhCrap: [[spoiler: Lee, after she thinks she killed Clinton.]]
** [[spoiler: Philip, when Tom reveals he's wearing Anthony's hand puppets to strangle him because he doesn't have any gloves. Philip's response is to say, "Oh," and make a run for it.]]
* OlderAndWiser: Philip. [[spoiler: He's one of the best players at Clinton's game, and even when Tom, who came up with a perfectly logical and complete solution to the murder of Clinton, and the deaths of Sheila and Lee, Philip sees through the flaws, and then, after laying eyes on the photo Clinton took of the group, is able to systematically tear apart each one of Tom's well-constructed lies to determine the REAL solution.]]
Changed line(s) 58,59 (click to see context) from:
* PlotTwist: Several zig-zags in the story: [[spoiler:Clinton's cruise is actually a ruse to expose the killer of Sheila, Clinton ends up getting murdered, Lee confesses to killing both Sheila and Clinton and commits suicide, Philip figures out that Tom actually murdered Clinton and Lee (and that Clinton wasn't behind the ruse to expose Sheila's killer)]].
* PosthumousCharacter: One of the most striking things about the film is the extent to which this trope is downplayed. In the end, no one of Sheila's friends seems to be interested in Sheila as a person and a character -- only as a potential source of revenue from the adaptation. [[spoiler:Not even her husband, who, as it turns out in the end, likely never intended to investigate into her death.]]
* PosthumousCharacter: One of the most striking things about the film is the extent to which this trope is downplayed. In the end, no one of Sheila's friends seems to be interested in Sheila as a person and a character -- only as a potential source of revenue from the adaptation. [[spoiler:Not even her husband, who, as it turns out in the end, likely never intended to investigate into her death.]]
to:
* PlotTwist: Several zig-zags in the story: [[spoiler:Clinton's cruise is actually a ruse to expose the killer of Sheila, Clinton ends up getting murdered, Lee confesses to killing both Sheila and Clinton and commits suicide, Philip figures out that Tom actually murdered Clinton and Lee (and that Clinton wasn't behind the ruse to expose Sheila's killer)]].
killer) And Philip also reveals that an earlier attempt to kill Clinton by starting the yacht's engines while Clinton and Christine were in the water was actually engineered by Philip himself]].
* PosthumousCharacter: One of the most striking things about the film is the extent to which this trope is downplayed. In the end, no one of Sheila's friends seems to be interested in Sheila as a person and a character -- only as a potential source of revenue from the adaptation. [[spoiler:Not even her husband, who, as it turns out in the end, likely never intended to investigate into herdeath.death, and the entire game was just that, a game intended to expose some quasi-deep secrets about the party guests.]]
* PosthumousCharacter: One of the most striking things about the film is the extent to which this trope is downplayed. In the end, no one of Sheila's friends seems to be interested in Sheila as a person and a character -- only as a potential source of revenue from the adaptation. [[spoiler:Not even her husband, who, as it turns out in the end, likely never intended to investigate into her
** [[spoiler: The entire first act sets up Clinton's game as an elaborate piece to flush out the driver who ran Shelia over. By the end of the film, we find out that Clinton never intended for that to be the result. He was simply intending to torment the assembled guests and it was actually Tom that worked behind the scenes to make the game appear to be all about outing Sheila's killer. He did so because Lee, his wife, was the actual culprit, he knew, and was trying to frame her for Clinton's eventual murder.]]
* SayingTooMuch: Really, [[spoiler: Philip's entire summation to Tom that he knows Tom is the killer. Especially since he is apparently alone on the yacht, Tom has locked him into the main saloon, and almost gets away with murdering Philip too.]]
Changed line(s) 66 (click to see context) from:
* SpottingTheThread: Phillip is not satisfied with the tidy solution. He ponders the card that says [[spoiler:"Little Child Molester", with the odd redundancy of "little". He realizes that the card secrets -- "shoplifter", "homosexual", "ex-convict", "informer", "little child molester", and "hit-and-run killer" -- are actually an acrostic that is supposed to spell out "SHEILA". The only problem is that they spell out "SHEILH" because there's no card that starts with A. Phillip realizes that "hit-and-run killer" doesn't fit... and that was Tom's card. Then he remembers Tom crumpled up his card, but the "hit-and-run killer" card is uncrumpled]]. He unravels the whole mystery from there.
to:
* SpottingTheThread: Phillip is not satisfied with the tidy solution. He ponders the card that says [[spoiler:"Little Child Molester", with the odd redundancy of "little". He realizes that the card secrets -- "shoplifter", "homosexual", "ex-convict", "informer", "little child molester", and "hit-and-run killer" -- are actually an acrostic that is supposed to spell out "SHEILA". The only problem is that they spell out "SHEILH" because there's no card that starts with A. Phillip realizes that "hit-and-run killer" doesn't fit... and that was Tom's card. Then he remembers Tom crumpled up his card, but the "hit-and-run killer" card is uncrumpled]].uncrumpled, and deduces the original card was "alcoholic," which is a secret that would fit Lee AND would make up the A in "Sheila"]]. He unravels the whole mystery from there.
* TraumaCongaLine: Hoo boy. [[spoiler: While drunk, Lee accidentally runs over Sheila. She gets the damaged car repaired in Vegas, but unknown to her, Tom gets the bill and ALSO knows she killed Sheila. She boards the yacht with her struggling writer Tom, that she's deeply in love with, and shortly before the second game, Tom hints that the secret cards may be made up of secrets of their own. Lee reads Tom's card while he's in the shower, and it indicates she's going to be outed by Clinton as Sheila's killer (YOU Are A Hit-And-Run Killer) She confronts Clinton, then accidentally seems to have murdered him in a rage. She covers up the death but seemingly makes a mistake, and during a drawing room discussion with everyone present, Tom seems to accidentally out her as Sheila's killer. Lee drunkenly confesses to hitting Sheila, and confesses to hitting Clinton with a floor candlestick and trying to cover up the crime before locking herself in her cabin, getting fully-drunk, and then going to Clinton's cabin and, in a fit of guilt, killing herself. The only death she caused was Sheila's. Tom killed Clinton, made her believe she killed him, and then killed Lee as well. Worse, she opens her eyes when Tom puts her in Clinton's tub, indicating she may be aware of what Tom is doing, but in her stupor, can do nothing to stop it.]]
* UndyingLoyalty: [[spoiler: Rather than turn Tom over to the police, Philip and Christine keep the secret that he killed Clinton and Lee, though they force him to turn over Lee's money, and Philip will only allow him to do rewrites on the upcoming planned film and serve as a technical advisor, giving Tom CruelMercy.]]
* UndyingLoyalty: [[spoiler: Rather than turn Tom over to the police, Philip and Christine keep the secret that he killed Clinton and Lee, though they force him to turn over Lee's money, and Philip will only allow him to do rewrites on the upcoming planned film and serve as a technical advisor, giving Tom CruelMercy.]]
* WhamLine: The one that begins unraveling the entire plot. [[spoiler: "Hit and run killer? The last of Sheila should be an A. Hit and run doesn't begin with an A, does it, Tom."
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: [[spoiler: After Clinton's death and Lee's "suicide," the yacht docks, Anthony and Alice leave to go stay at a hotel as they wait for the inquest at the beginning of the third act, and we never see them again for the rest of the film.]]
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: [[spoiler: After Clinton's death and Lee's "suicide," the yacht docks, Anthony and Alice leave to go stay at a hotel as they wait for the inquest at the beginning of the third act, and we never see them again for the rest of the film.]]
Changed line(s) 71 (click to see context) from:
* XanatosSpeedChess: That's a pretty elaborate plan that [[spoiler:Tom]] came up with on the fly, once [[spoiler:he]] was aboard Clinton's yacht and discovered the nature of the scavenger hunt.
to:
* XanatosSpeedChess: That's a pretty elaborate plan that [[spoiler:Tom]] came up with on the fly, once [[spoiler:he]] was aboard Clinton's yacht and discovered the nature of the scavenger hunt. He even modifies it when [[spoiler: Lee gives him the perfect opportunity to kill her and stage it as a suicide.]]
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Added DiffLines:
* MsFanservice: Christine wears bikinis for a large amount of her screen time and has a good body for it.
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Changed line(s) 22,25 (click to see context) from:
* TheSeventies: This movie is very '70s. How '70s is this movie, you ask? One of the five secrets that are thought to be no big deal, definitely not worth killing over, is ''child molester''. Another of the five secrets is 'informant' - not for turning someone into the police, but for giving names to the House Committee of Internal Security - formerly known as the Un-American Activities Committee. [[note]] The name was changed in 1963, the Committee itself was dissolved in 1975.[[/note]]
* TheAlcoholic: Lee--not really LadyDrunk as she's not old and sad and bitter, she just drinks way too much.
* AmateurSleuth: Phillip and Tom both do a decent job during their respective summations. [[spoiler:Although Tom is faking his and Phillip also tried to kill Clinton himself]].
* AssholeVictim: Clinton [[spoiler: Clinton's appalling behavior might be justified if it was just an act to catch the killer of a woman he truly grieved for. However, it wasn't proving he was a Jerkass all along.]]
* TheAlcoholic: Lee--not really LadyDrunk as she's not old and sad and bitter, she just drinks way too much.
* AmateurSleuth: Phillip and Tom both do a decent job during their respective summations. [[spoiler:Although Tom is faking his and Phillip also tried to kill Clinton himself]].
* AssholeVictim: Clinton [[spoiler: Clinton's appalling behavior might be justified if it was just an act to catch the killer of a woman he truly grieved for. However, it wasn't proving he was a Jerkass all along.]]
to:
* TheSeventies: This movie is very '70s. How '70s is this movie, you ask? One of the five secrets that are thought to be no big deal, definitely not worth killing over, is ''child molester''. Another of the five secrets is 'informant' - -- not for turning someone into the police, but for giving names to the House Committee of Internal Security - -- formerly known as the Un-American Activities Committee. [[note]] The name was changed in 1963, the Committee itself was dissolved in 1975.[[/note]]
* TheAlcoholic:Lee--not Lee -- not really LadyDrunk as she's not old and sad and bitter, she just drinks way too much.
* AmateurSleuth: Phillip and Tom both do a decent job during their respective summations.[[spoiler:Although [[spoiler:However, Tom is faking his and Phillip also tried to kill Clinton himself]].
himself.]]
* AssholeVictim:Clinton [[spoiler: Clinton's [[spoiler:Clinton's appalling behavior might be justified if it was just an act to catch the killer of a woman he truly grieved for. However, it wasn't wasn't, proving that he was just a Jerkass {{Jerkass}} all along.]]
* TheAlcoholic:
* AmateurSleuth: Phillip and Tom both do a decent job during their respective summations.
* AssholeVictim:
Changed line(s) 27 (click to see context) from:
* BathSuicide: [[spoiler: Lee]] is found in the tub, having slit [[spoiler: her]] wrists right after [[spoiler:she]] confesses to killing Sheila and Clinton. [[spoiler:Eventually subverted when we find out she didn't actually kill herself]].
to:
* BathSuicide: [[spoiler: Lee]] [[spoiler:Lee]] is found in the tub, having slit [[spoiler: her]] [[spoiler:her]] wrists right after [[spoiler:she]] confesses to killing Sheila and Clinton. [[spoiler:Eventually subverted {{subverted|Trope}} when we find out that she didn't actually kill herself]].herself.]]
* {{Bathos}}: In the climax, Phillip gives Tom a rundown on how Phillip worked out [[spoiler:that Tom was the mastermind behind Clinton and Lee's deaths. The tension mounts as he tries to discreetly either summon help (unsuccessfully) or find a way out of the main saloon (also unsuccessfully). Tom then approaches Phillip with deathly intent in his eyes, whips out his hands from behind his back... which are wearing the {{hand puppet}}s that Anthony was wearing earlier. Tom apologetically mutters that he 'didn't bring gloves', and then proceeds to strange Phillip]].
* {{Bathos}}: In the climax, Phillip gives Tom a rundown on how Phillip worked out [[spoiler:that Tom was the mastermind behind Clinton and Lee's deaths. The tension mounts as he tries to discreetly either summon help (unsuccessfully) or find a way out of the main saloon (also unsuccessfully). Tom then approaches Phillip with deathly intent in his eyes, whips out his hands from behind his back... which are wearing the {{hand puppet}}s that Anthony was wearing earlier. Tom apologetically mutters that he 'didn't bring gloves', and then proceeds to strange Phillip]].
Changed line(s) 30,31 (click to see context) from:
* CelebrityParadox: The TV in the room where Clinton is waiting for his guests is playing ''20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'', which stars James Mason.
* ChekhovsGun: The photo Clinton takes of his guests before they set sail (as seen in the page image). Also, [[spoiler: The actual name of the movie itself! The 'last of Sheila', taken literally, is the letter 'A', which is the card that Tom swapped out to make his spontaneous plot work, and later gives Phillip the clue he needs to work out the ''real'' story.]]
* ChekhovsGun: The photo Clinton takes of his guests before they set sail (as seen in the page image). Also, [[spoiler: The actual name of the movie itself! The 'last of Sheila', taken literally, is the letter 'A', which is the card that Tom swapped out to make his spontaneous plot work, and later gives Phillip the clue he needs to work out the ''real'' story.]]
to:
* CelebrityParadox: The TV in the room where Clinton is waiting for his guests is playing ''20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'', ''Film/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea'', which stars James Mason.
Creator/JamesMason, the actor who plays Phillip.
* ChekhovsGun: The photo Clinton takes of his guests before they set sail (as seen in the page image). Also,[[spoiler: The [[spoiler:the actual name of the movie itself! The 'last of Sheila', taken literally, is the letter 'A', which is the card that Tom swapped out to make his spontaneous plot work, and later gives Phillip the clue he needs to work out the ''real'' story.]]story]]. In addition, the {{hand puppet}}s that Anthony plays with early in the film [[spoiler:come back at the climax when Tom tries to strangle Phillip with them]], as does the intercom that Clinton uses to eavesdrop on his guests, [[spoiler:through which Alice is alerted to Tom's attempt to strangle Phillip]].
* ChekhovsGun: The photo Clinton takes of his guests before they set sail (as seen in the page image). Also,
Changed line(s) 33,35 (click to see context) from:
* CigaretteOfAnxiety: Lee has to sit down and have a smoke right after she [[spoiler:kills Clinton in a fit of rage.]]
* ConvenientPhotograph: Invoked in the photograph of the murder victim and all the suspects. Which is set up [[spoiler:by the victim to clue them in on the identity of the murderer.]]
* CrusadingWidower: [[spoiler: Subverted! In the end, Clinton's game was related to Sheila's fate only in the most tangential way - one which leaves the viewer in doubt about whether he even really cared about her death at all.]]
* ConvenientPhotograph: Invoked in the photograph of the murder victim and all the suspects. Which is set up [[spoiler:by the victim to clue them in on the identity of the murderer.]]
* CrusadingWidower: [[spoiler: Subverted! In the end, Clinton's game was related to Sheila's fate only in the most tangential way - one which leaves the viewer in doubt about whether he even really cared about her death at all.]]
to:
* CigaretteOfAnxiety: Lee has to sit down and have a smoke right after she [[spoiler:kills Clinton in a fit of rage.rage]].
* ConvenientPhotograph: {{Invoked|Trope}} in the photograph that Clinton takes of his guests before they set sail, which is set up [[spoiler:by Clinton to clue them in on the solution to his game]].
* CruelMercy: [[spoiler:After Tom is revealed to be the killer and his attempt to murder Phillip is thwarted, Phillip decides not to turn him over to the police... in return for Tom being forced to finance the production of ''The Last of Sheila'' (with the money he obtained by killing Lee), but being creatively relegated to script "rewrites" (which he loathes doing).]]
* ConvenientPhotograph: Invoked in the photograph of the murder victim and all the suspects. Which is set up [[spoiler:by the victim to clue them in on the identity of the murderer.]]
* CrusadingWidower: [[spoiler: Subverted! [[spoiler:{{Subverted|Trope}}! In the end, Clinton's game was related to Sheila's fate only in the most tangential way - -- one which leaves the viewer in doubt about whether he even really cared about her death at all.]]
* ConvenientPhotograph: {{Invoked|Trope}} in the photograph that Clinton takes of his guests before they set sail, which is set up [[spoiler:by Clinton to clue them in on the solution to his game]].
* CruelMercy: [[spoiler:After Tom is revealed to be the killer and his attempt to murder Phillip is thwarted, Phillip decides not to turn him over to the police... in return for Tom being forced to finance the production of ''The Last of Sheila'' (with the money he obtained by killing Lee), but being creatively relegated to script "rewrites" (which he loathes doing).]]
Changed line(s) 37 (click to see context) from:
* FairPlayWhodunnit: Loaded throughout with clues that might help a viewer solve the mystery, like the [[spoiler: group photo taken early in the story, or Tom's ChekhovsSkill, or the ice pick that one character is seen using right before another character can't find it]].
to:
* FairPlayWhodunnit: Loaded throughout with clues that might help a viewer solve the mystery, like the [[spoiler: group [[spoiler:group photo taken early in the story, or Tom's ChekhovsSkill, or the ice pick that one character is seen using right before another character can't find it]].
Changed line(s) 39 (click to see context) from:
* FateWorseThanDeath: [[spoiler:By being forced to finance the production of the InUniverse film ''The Last of Sheila'' (with money he would otherwise have had for himself), but being creatively relegated to script "rewrites" (which he loathes doing), Tom is consigned to a personal hell worse than if he'd been turned over to the police.]]
to:
* FateWorseThanDeath: [[spoiler:By being forced to finance the production of the InUniverse film ''The Last of Sheila'' (with the money he would otherwise have had for himself), but being creatively relegated to script "rewrites" (which he loathes doing), Tom is consigned to a personal hell worse than if he'd been turned over to the police.]]
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* GroupPictureEnding: Ends with a CallBack shot of the snapshot Clinton took of his six guests.
* HalfwayPlotSwitch: Starts out as a comedy about a complex ScavengerHunt-type game, then turns into a {{Whodunit}}.
* HandPuppet: Anthony the weirdo brings his hand puppets on the trip. Later [[spoiler:Tom tries to use them to strangle Phillip,]] muttering "I don't have any gloves."
* HorribleHollywood: A bunch of venal, selfish Hollywood types. The film ends with [[spoiler: two people deciding to let a double murderer go free as long as they can get a movie produced as part of the deal]].
* HalfwayPlotSwitch: Starts out as a comedy about a complex ScavengerHunt-type game, then turns into a {{Whodunit}}.
* HandPuppet: Anthony the weirdo brings his hand puppets on the trip. Later [[spoiler:Tom tries to use them to strangle Phillip,]] muttering "I don't have any gloves."
* HorribleHollywood: A bunch of venal, selfish Hollywood types. The film ends with [[spoiler: two people deciding to let a double murderer go free as long as they can get a movie produced as part of the deal]].
to:
* GroupPictureEnding: Ends The film ends with a CallBack shot of the snapshot Clinton took of his six guests.
* HalfwayPlotSwitch: Starts out as a comedy about a complex ScavengerHunt-type game, then turns into a{{Whodunit}}.
murder mystery.
* HandPuppet: Anthony the weirdo brings his hand puppets on the trip.Later [[ChekhovsGun Later]], [[spoiler:Tom tries to use them to strangle Phillip,]] Phillip]], muttering "I don't have any gloves."
* HorribleHollywood:A bunch of venal, selfish The main characters are all either selfish, ladder-climbing venal Hollywood types or selfish, successful venal Hollywood types. The film ends with [[spoiler: two [[spoiler:two people deciding to let a double murderer go free as long as they can get a movie produced as part of the deal]].
* HalfwayPlotSwitch: Starts out as a comedy about a complex ScavengerHunt-type game, then turns into a
* HandPuppet: Anthony the weirdo brings his hand puppets on the trip.
* HorribleHollywood:
Changed line(s) 47 (click to see context) from:
* {{Jerkass}}: Clinton, who delights in embarrassing and humiliating his guests as he dangles the prospect of work in front of them. [[spoiler: Honestly, it's a little surprising that no one murdered him sooner, given that this is noted to be typical of his behaviour.]]
to:
* {{Jerkass}}: Clinton, who delights in embarrassing and humiliating his guests as he dangles the prospect of work in front of them. [[spoiler: Honestly, [[spoiler:Honestly, it's a little surprising that no one murdered him sooner, given that this is noted to be typical of his behaviour.behavior.]]
Changed line(s) 50 (click to see context) from:
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: A lot of this, as the characters are all movie people who call out the story beats as if they're in a movie. When they reach the abandoned monastery they compliment the set design. When Phillip is explaining how the whole mystery went down, he says "{{Dissolve}}", and the scene dissolves to the next scene.
to:
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: A lot of this, as the characters are all movie people who call out the story beats as if they're in a movie. When they reach the abandoned monastery monastery, they compliment the set design. When Phillip is explaining how the whole mystery went down, he says "{{Dissolve}}", and the scene dissolves to the next scene.
Changed line(s) 53 (click to see context) from:
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: One of the gags was how all the characters are modeled after real people. Philip Dexter, the once-great director now reduced to appearing in commercials, is Creator/OrsonWelles. Christine is actually RealLife agent Sue Mengers, who passed on playing an {{Expy}} of herself and gave the role to her client, Dyan Cannon. Tom Parkman is actually Tony Perkins himself, a closeted gay man married to a woman, whose career had stalled (Perkins's career had stalled due to typecasting after ''Psycho''). Alice and Anthony Wood are actually based on Raquel Welch and her then-husband, producer Patrick Curtis. (Sondheim got Welch to play the part by lying and telling her that Alice and Anthony were based on Ann-Margaret and her husband.)
to:
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: One of the gags was how all the characters are modeled after real people. Philip Dexter, the once-great director now reduced to appearing in commercials, is Creator/OrsonWelles. Christine is actually RealLife agent Sue Mengers, who passed on playing an {{Expy}} of herself and gave the role to her client, Dyan Cannon. Tom Parkman is actually Tony Perkins Creator/AnthonyPerkins himself, a closeted gay man married to a woman, whose career had stalled (Perkins's career had stalled due to typecasting {{typecasting}} after ''Psycho''). ''Film/{{Psycho}}''). Alice and Anthony Wood are actually based on Raquel Welch Creator/RaquelWelch and her then-husband, producer Patrick Curtis. (Sondheim got Welch to play the part by lying and telling her that Alice and Anthony were based on Ann-Margaret and her husband.)
Changed line(s) 56 (click to see context) from:
* PosthumousCharacter: One of the most striking things about the film is the extent to which this trope is downplayed. In the end, no one of Sheila's friends seems to be interested in Sheila as a person and a character - only as a potential source of revenue from the adaptation. [[spoiler: Not even her husband, who, as it turns out in the end, likely never intended to investigate into her death.]]
to:
* PosthumousCharacter: One of the most striking things about the film is the extent to which this trope is downplayed. In the end, no one of Sheila's friends seems to be interested in Sheila as a person and a character - -- only as a potential source of revenue from the adaptation. [[spoiler: Not [[spoiler:Not even her husband, who, as it turns out in the end, likely never intended to investigate into her death.]]
Changed line(s) 63 (click to see context) from:
* SpottingTheThread: Phillip is not satisfied with the tidy solution. He ponders the card that says [[spoiler:"Little Child Molester", with the odd redundancy of "little". He realizes that the card secrets--"shoplifter", "homosexual", "ex-convict", "informer", "little child molester", and "hit-and-run killer"--are actually an acrostic that is supposed to spell out "SHEILA". The only problem is that they spell out "SHEILH" because there's no card that starts with A. Phillip realizes that "hit-and-run killer" doesn't fit...and that was Tom's card. Then he remembers Tom crumpled up his card, but the "hit-and-run killer" card is uncrumpled.]] He unravels the whole mystery from there.
to:
* SpottingTheThread: Phillip is not satisfied with the tidy solution. He ponders the card that says [[spoiler:"Little Child Molester", with the odd redundancy of "little". He realizes that the card secrets--"shoplifter", secrets -- "shoplifter", "homosexual", "ex-convict", "informer", "little child molester", and "hit-and-run killer"--are killer" -- are actually an acrostic that is supposed to spell out "SHEILA". The only problem is that they spell out "SHEILH" because there's no card that starts with A. Phillip realizes that "hit-and-run killer" doesn't fit... and that was Tom's card. Then he remembers Tom crumpled up his card, but the "hit-and-run killer" card is uncrumpled.]] uncrumpled]]. He unravels the whole mystery from there.there.
* ThousandYardStare: [[spoiler:The second-to-last shot of the film is of Tom staring blankly into the camera, completely broken thanks to the CruelMercy that Phillip has subjected him to.]]
* ThousandYardStare: [[spoiler:The second-to-last shot of the film is of Tom staring blankly into the camera, completely broken thanks to the CruelMercy that Phillip has subjected him to.]]
Changed line(s) 66,67 (click to see context) from:
* WhereEverybodyKnowsYourFlame: As Christine wanders around a seaside town trying to solve the first scavenger hunt, she stumbles into a lesbian bar. A bunch of butch lesbians gape at her before she beats a hasty retreat.
* XanatosSpeedChess: That's a pretty elaborate plan that [[spoiler: Tom]] came up with on the fly, once [[spoiler:he]] was aboard Clinton's yacht and discovered the nature of the scavenger hunt.
* XanatosSpeedChess: That's a pretty elaborate plan that [[spoiler: Tom]] came up with on the fly, once [[spoiler:he]] was aboard Clinton's yacht and discovered the nature of the scavenger hunt.
to:
* WhereEverybodyKnowsYourFlame: As Christine wanders around a seaside town trying to solve the first scavenger hunt, she stumbles into a lesbian bar. A bunch of butch lesbians {{butch lesbian}}s gape at her before she beats a hasty retreat.
* XanatosSpeedChess: That's a pretty elaborate plan that[[spoiler: Tom]] [[spoiler:Tom]] came up with on the fly, once [[spoiler:he]] was aboard Clinton's yacht and discovered the nature of the scavenger hunt.
* XanatosSpeedChess: That's a pretty elaborate plan that
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Disambig
Changed line(s) 3,4 (click to see context) from:
''The Last of Sheila'' is a 1973 neo-{{noir}} mystery film directed by Herbert Ross and featuring an AllStarCast.
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''The Last of Sheila'' is a 1973 neo-{{noir}} neo-[[FilmNoir noir]] mystery film directed by Herbert Ross and featuring an AllStarCast.
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* ConvenientPhotograph: Invoked in the photograph of the murder victim and all the suspects. Which is set up [[spoiler:by the victim to clue them in on the identity of the murderer.]]
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Changed line(s) 3,4 (click to see context) from:
''The Last of Sheila'' is a 1973 film directed by Herbert Ross, featuring an AllStarCast.
to:
''The Last of Sheila'' is a 1973 neo-{{noir}} mystery film directed by Herbert Ross, Ross and featuring an AllStarCast.
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Changed line(s) 22,23 (click to see context) from:
* TheSeventies: This movie is very '70s. How '70s is this movie, you ask? One of the five secrets that are thought to be no big deal, definitely not worth killing over, is ''child molester''. Another of the five secrets is 'informant' - not for turning someone into the police, but for giving names to the House Committee of Internal Security - formerly known as the Un-American Activities Committee. [[note]] The name was changed in 1963, the Committee itself was dissolved in 1975[[/note]].
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Deleted line(s) 25 (click to see context) :
* TheAtoner: Christine admits that she informed on other Hollywood professionals during the RedScare and now that it's over she does her best to get them work to make up for that.
* TheAtoner: Christine admits that she informed on other Hollywood professionals during the RedScare and now that it's over she does her best to get them work to make up for that. However, she says there are still people who, if they see her on the street, will cross the road to avoid her.
Changed line(s) 35 (click to see context) from:
* CrusadingWidower / TheLostLenore: [[spoiler: Subverted! In the end, Clinton's game was related to Sheila's fate only in the most tangential way - one which leaves the viewer in doubt about whether he even really cared about her death at all.]]
to:
* CrusadingWidower / TheLostLenore: CrusadingWidower: [[spoiler: Subverted! In the end, Clinton's game was related to Sheila's fate only in the most tangential way - one which leaves the viewer in doubt about whether he even really cared about her death at all.]]
Changed line(s) 40 (click to see context) from:
* FreezeFrameBonus: [[spoiler:When the slips of paper are handed out and given milliseconds of screen time, one says "Alcoholic" which doesn't reappear until the end, providing an early hint that one of the secrets is fake]].
to:
* FreezeFrameBonus: [[spoiler:When When the slips of paper are handed out and given milliseconds of screen time, one [[spoiler:one says "Alcoholic" which doesn't reappear until the end, providing an early hint that one of the secrets is fake]].
Changed line(s) 44 (click to see context) from:
* HorribleHollywood: A bunch of venal, selfish Hollywood types. The film ends with [[spoiler: two people deciding to let a double murderer go free as long as they can get a movie produced as part of the deal.]]
to:
* HorribleHollywood: A bunch of venal, selfish Hollywood types. The film ends with [[spoiler: two people deciding to let a double murderer go free as long as they can get a movie produced as part of the deal.]]deal]].
Changed line(s) 46 (click to see context) from:
* {{Irony}}: the ending of the movie (see HorribleHollywood above) proves just what rotten friends these people are to each other. The final shot and ending credits are set to Bette Midler's song "(You've got to have) Friends".
to:
* {{Irony}}: the The ending of the movie (see HorribleHollywood above) proves just what rotten friends these people are to each other. The final shot and ending credits are set to Bette Midler's song "(You've got to have) Friends".
Changed line(s) 48,49 (click to see context) from:
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Tony is blunt, and sometimes mean-spirited but he doesn't hesitate to dive into the water to save Christine from the propeller and out of everyone there, [[spoiler:he is the only one who isn't having an affair, plotting a murder or willing to cover up a murder]].
* TheLastTitle: ''The Last of Sheila''
* TheLastTitle: ''The Last of Sheila''
to:
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Tony is blunt, and sometimes mean-spirited mean-spirited, but he doesn't hesitate to dive into the water to save Christine from the propeller and out of everyone there, [[spoiler:he is the only one who isn't having an affair, plotting a murder or willing to cover up a murder]].
* TheLastTitle: ''The Last ofSheila''Sheila''.
* TheLastTitle: ''The Last of
Changed line(s) 53,55 (click to see context) from:
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: One of the gags was how all the characters are modeled after real people. Philip Dexter, the once-great director now reduced to appearing in commercials, is Creator/OrsonWelles. Christine is actually RealLife agent Sue Mengers, who passed on playing an {{Expy}} of herself and gave the role to her client, Dyan Cannon. Tom Parkman is actually Tony Perkins himself, a closeted gay man married to a woman, whose career had stalled (Perkins's career had stalled due to typecasting after ''Psycho''). Alice and Anthony Wood are actually based on ''Raquel Welch'' and her then-husband, producer Patrick Curtis. (Sondheim got Welch to play the part by lying and telling her that Alice and Anthony were based on Ann-Margaret and her husband.)
* OminousLatinChanting: Clinton arranges some cassette players to play Ominous Latin Chanting as the scavengers root through the monastery.
* PlotTwist: Several zig-zags in the story: [[spoiler:Clinton's cruise is actually a ruse to expose the killer of Sheila, Clinton ends up getting murdered, Lee confesses to killing both Sheila and Clinton and commits suicide, Philip figures out that Tom actually murdered Clinton and Lee.]]
* OminousLatinChanting: Clinton arranges some cassette players to play Ominous Latin Chanting as the scavengers root through the monastery.
* PlotTwist: Several zig-zags in the story: [[spoiler:Clinton's cruise is actually a ruse to expose the killer of Sheila, Clinton ends up getting murdered, Lee confesses to killing both Sheila and Clinton and commits suicide, Philip figures out that Tom actually murdered Clinton and Lee.]]
to:
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: One of the gags was how all the characters are modeled after real people. Philip Dexter, the once-great director now reduced to appearing in commercials, is Creator/OrsonWelles. Christine is actually RealLife agent Sue Mengers, who passed on playing an {{Expy}} of herself and gave the role to her client, Dyan Cannon. Tom Parkman is actually Tony Perkins himself, a closeted gay man married to a woman, whose career had stalled (Perkins's career had stalled due to typecasting after ''Psycho''). Alice and Anthony Wood are actually based on ''Raquel Welch'' Raquel Welch and her then-husband, producer Patrick Curtis. (Sondheim got Welch to play the part by lying and telling her that Alice and Anthony were based on Ann-Margaret and her husband.)
* OminousLatinChanting: Clinton arranges some cassette players to playOminous Latin Chanting Gregorian chants as the scavengers root through the monastery.
* PlotTwist: Several zig-zags in the story: [[spoiler:Clinton's cruise is actually a ruse to expose the killer of Sheila, Clinton ends up getting murdered, Lee confesses to killing both Sheila and Clinton and commits suicide, Philip figures out that Tom actually murdered Clinton andLee.]]Lee (and that Clinton wasn't behind the ruse to expose Sheila's killer)]].
* OminousLatinChanting: Clinton arranges some cassette players to play
* PlotTwist: Several zig-zags in the story: [[spoiler:Clinton's cruise is actually a ruse to expose the killer of Sheila, Clinton ends up getting murdered, Lee confesses to killing both Sheila and Clinton and commits suicide, Philip figures out that Tom actually murdered Clinton and
Changed line(s) 57,59 (click to see context) from:
* RedHerring: The whole incident in which someone turns on the engine, nearly killing Christine as she swims. It turns out to be [[spoiler:Phillip]], who was trying to kill Clinton (also out swimming), but it's not related to the main mystery.
** Also Sheila suddenly leaving the party on the night of her death (most probably she just got mad at Clinton).
* TheReveal: Several! [[spoiler:Tom]] killed[[spoiler: both Clinton and Lee]]. Clinton's game wasn't about [[spoiler: his wife's death at all, it was just him screwing with his guests because he's a {{Jerkass}}. Lee's secret wasn't "Hit-and-run killer", even though she ''actually was'' the hit-and-run driver who killed Sheila it was "Alcoholic". Tom changed the cards when he whipped up a spur-of-the-moment plan to kill Clinton and Lee, thus allowing him to make the script he sold to Clinton, with Lee's money]].
** Also Sheila suddenly leaving the party on the night of her death (most probably she just got mad at Clinton).
* TheReveal: Several! [[spoiler:Tom]] killed[[spoiler: both Clinton and Lee]]. Clinton's game wasn't about [[spoiler: his wife's death at all, it was just him screwing with his guests because he's a {{Jerkass}}. Lee's secret wasn't "Hit-and-run killer", even though she ''actually was'' the hit-and-run driver who killed Sheila it was "Alcoholic". Tom changed the cards when he whipped up a spur-of-the-moment plan to kill Clinton and Lee, thus allowing him to make the script he sold to Clinton, with Lee's money]].
to:
* RedHerring: RedHerring:
** The whole incident in which someone turns on the engine, nearly killing Christine as she swims. It turns out to be [[spoiler:Phillip]], who was trying to kill Clinton (also out swimming), but it's not related to the main mystery.
**Also Sheila suddenly leaving the party on the night of her death (most probably she just got mad at Clinton).
* TheReveal: Several! [[spoiler:Tom]]killed[[spoiler: both killed [[spoiler:both Clinton and Lee]]. Clinton's game wasn't about [[spoiler: his [[spoiler:his wife's death at all, it was just him screwing with his guests because he's a {{Jerkass}}. Lee's secret wasn't "Hit-and-run killer", even though she ''actually was'' the hit-and-run driver who killed Sheila Sheila, it was "Alcoholic". Tom changed the cards when he whipped up a spur-of-the-moment plan to kill Clinton and Lee, thus allowing him to make the script he sold to Clinton, with Lee's money]].
** The whole incident in which someone turns on the engine, nearly killing Christine as she swims. It turns out to be [[spoiler:Phillip]], who was trying to kill Clinton (also out swimming), but it's not related to the main mystery.
**
* TheReveal: Several! [[spoiler:Tom]]
Changed line(s) 61,62 (click to see context) from:
* ShoutOut / ActorAllusion: Clinton (Creator/JamesCoburn) mockingly refers to Tom's latest film as "A Fistful of Lasagne". This is obviously a jab at the SpaghettiWestern genre, namely, such films by Creator/SergioLeone as the pioneer ''Film/AFistfulOfDollars'' and ''Film/AFistfulOfDynamite''. The latter one, shot two years before ''The Last of Sheila'', featured Coburn himself in a leading role.
* SpottingTheThread: Phillip is not satisfied with the tidy solution. He ponders the card that says [[spoiler:"Little Child Molester", with the odd redundancy of "little". He realizes that the card secrets--"shoplifter", "homosexual", "ex-convict", "informer", "little child molester", and "hit-and-run killer"--are actually an acrostic that is supposed to spell out "SHEILA". The only problem is that they spell out "SHEILH" because there's no card that starts with A. Phillip realizes that "hit-and-run killer" doesn't fit...and that was Tom's card.]] He unravels the whole mystery from there.
* SpottingTheThread: Phillip is not satisfied with the tidy solution. He ponders the card that says [[spoiler:"Little Child Molester", with the odd redundancy of "little". He realizes that the card secrets--"shoplifter", "homosexual", "ex-convict", "informer", "little child molester", and "hit-and-run killer"--are actually an acrostic that is supposed to spell out "SHEILA". The only problem is that they spell out "SHEILH" because there's no card that starts with A. Phillip realizes that "hit-and-run killer" doesn't fit...and that was Tom's card.]] He unravels the whole mystery from there.
to:
* ShoutOut / ActorAllusion: ShoutOut: Clinton (Creator/JamesCoburn) mockingly refers to Tom's latest film as "A Fistful of Lasagne". This is obviously a jab at the SpaghettiWestern genre, namely, such films by Creator/SergioLeone as the pioneer ''Film/AFistfulOfDollars'' and ''Film/AFistfulOfDynamite''. The latter one, shot two years before ''The Last of Sheila'', featured Coburn himself in a leading role.
* SpottingTheThread: Phillip is not satisfied with the tidy solution. He ponders the card that says [[spoiler:"Little Child Molester", with the odd redundancy of "little". He realizes that the card secrets--"shoplifter", "homosexual", "ex-convict", "informer", "little child molester", and "hit-and-run killer"--are actually an acrostic that is supposed to spell out "SHEILA". The only problem is that they spell out "SHEILH" because there's no card that starts with A. Phillip realizes that "hit-and-run killer" doesn't fit...and that was Tom's card. Then he remembers Tom crumpled up his card, but the "hit-and-run killer" card is uncrumpled.]] He unravels the whole mystery from there.
* SpottingTheThread: Phillip is not satisfied with the tidy solution. He ponders the card that says [[spoiler:"Little Child Molester", with the odd redundancy of "little". He realizes that the card secrets--"shoplifter", "homosexual", "ex-convict", "informer", "little child molester", and "hit-and-run killer"--are actually an acrostic that is supposed to spell out "SHEILA". The only problem is that they spell out "SHEILH" because there's no card that starts with A. Phillip realizes that "hit-and-run killer" doesn't fit...and that was Tom's card. Then he remembers Tom crumpled up his card, but the "hit-and-run killer" card is uncrumpled.]] He unravels the whole mystery from there.
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Adding Clinton as an "Asshole Victim."
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* AssholeVictim: Clinton [[spoiler: Clinton's appalling behavior might be justified if it was just an act to catch the killer of a woman he truly grieved for. However, it wasn't proving he was a Jerkass all along.]]
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No longer a trope.
Deleted line(s) 66 (click to see context) :
* YourCheatingHeart: Alice is having an affair. [[spoiler: As is Tom, and this is the same affair...]]
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* TheAtoner: Christine admits that she informed on other Hollywood professionals during the RedScare and now that it's over she does her best to get them work to make up for that.
* AmateurSleuth: Phillip and Tom both do a decent job during their respective summations. [[spoiler:Although Tom is faking his and Phillip also tried to kill Clinton himself]].
* AmateurSleuth: Phillip and Tom both do a decent job during their respective summations. [[spoiler:Although Tom is faking his and Phillip also tried to kill Clinton himself]].
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* FreezeFrameBonus: [[spoiler:When the slips of paper are handed out and given milliseconds of screen time, one says "Alcoholic" which doesn't reappear until the end, providing an early hint that one of the secrets is fake]].
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* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Tony is blunt, and sometimes mean-spirited but he doesn't hesitate to dive into the water to save Christine from the propeller and out of everyone there, [[spoiler:he is the only one who isn't having an affair, plotting a murder or willing to cover up a murder]].
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Changed line(s) 56 (click to see context) from:
* ShoutOut / ActorAllusion: Clinton (''Creator/JamesCoburn'') mockingly refers to Tom's latest film as "A Fistful of Lasagne". This is obviously a jab at the SpaghettiWestern genre, namely such films by Creator/SergioLeone as the pioneer ''Film/AFistfulOfDollars'' and ''Film/AFistfulOfDynamite''. The latter one, shot two years before ''The Last of Sheila'', featured James Coburn himself in a leading role.
to:
* ShoutOut / ActorAllusion: Clinton (''Creator/JamesCoburn'') (Creator/JamesCoburn) mockingly refers to Tom's latest film as "A Fistful of Lasagne". This is obviously a jab at the SpaghettiWestern genre, namely namely, such films by Creator/SergioLeone as the pioneer ''Film/AFistfulOfDollars'' and ''Film/AFistfulOfDynamite''. The latter one, shot two years before ''The Last of Sheila'', featured James Coburn himself in a leading role.
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Added DiffLines:
* ShoutOut / ActorAllusion: Clinton (''Creator/JamesCoburn'') mockingly refers to Tom's latest film as "A Fistful of Lasagne". This is obviously a jab at the SpaghettiWestern genre, namely such films by Creator/SergioLeone as the pioneer ''Film/AFistfulOfDollars'' and ''Film/AFistfulOfDynamite''. The latter one, shot two years before ''The Last of Sheila'', featured James Coburn himself in a leading role.
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Changed line(s) 32 (click to see context) from:
* CrusadingWidower/LostLenore: [[spoiler: Subverted! In the end, Clinton's game was related to Sheila's fate only in the most tangential way - one which leaves the viewer in doubt about whether he even really cared about her death at all.]]
to:
* CrusadingWidower/LostLenore: CrusadingWidower / TheLostLenore: [[spoiler: Subverted! In the end, Clinton's game was related to Sheila's fate only in the most tangential way - one which leaves the viewer in doubt about whether he even really cared about her death at all.]]
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Changed line(s) 32 (click to see context) from:
* Crusading Widower/TheLostLenore: [[spoiler: Subverted! In the end, Clinton's game was related to Sheila's fate only in the most tangential way - one which leaves the viewer in doubt about whether he even really cared about her death at all.]]
to:
* Crusading Widower/TheLostLenore: CrusadingWidower/LostLenore: [[spoiler: Subverted! In the end, Clinton's game was related to Sheila's fate only in the most tangential way - one which leaves the viewer in doubt about whether he even really cared about her death at all.]]
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Added DiffLines:
* Crusading Widower/TheLostLenore: [[spoiler: Subverted! In the end, Clinton's game was related to Sheila's fate only in the most tangential way - one which leaves the viewer in doubt about whether he even really cared about her death at all.]]
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* PosthumousCharacter: One of the most striking things about the film is the extent to which this trope is downplayed. In the end, no one of Sheila's friends seems to be interested in Sheila as a person and a character - only as a potential source of revenue from the adaptation. [[spoiler: Not even her husband, who, as it turns out in the end, likely never intended to investigate into her death.]]
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** Also Sheila suddenly leaving the party on the night of her death (most probably she just got mad at Clinton).
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* YourCheatingHeart: Alice is having an affair.
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* YourCheatingHeart: Alice is having an affair. [[spoiler: As is Tom, and this is the same affair...]]
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* Frustrated screenwriter Tom Parkman (Richard Benjamin) and his independently wealthy wife Lee (Joan Hackett).
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* Frustrated screenwriter Tom Parkman (Richard Benjamin) (Creator/RichardBenjamin) and his independently wealthy wife Lee (Joan Hackett).
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* ChekovsGun: The photo Clinton takes of his guests before they set sail (as seen in the page image). Also, [[spoiler: The actual name of the movie itself! The 'last of Sheila', taken literally, is the letter 'A', which is the card that Tom swapped out to make his spontaneous plot work, and later gives Phillip the clue he needs to work out the ''real'' story.]]
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* ChekovsGun: ChekhovsGun: The photo Clinton takes of his guests before they set sail (as seen in the page image). Also, [[spoiler: The actual name of the movie itself! The 'last of Sheila', taken literally, is the letter 'A', which is the card that Tom swapped out to make his spontaneous plot work, and later gives Phillip the clue he needs to work out the ''real'' story.]]
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* TheAlcoholic: Lee--not really LadyDrunk as she's not old and sad and bitter, she just drinks way too much. This turns out to be yet another clue.
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* TheAlcoholic: Lee--not really LadyDrunk as she's not old and sad and bitter, she just drinks way too much. This turns out to be yet another clue.
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* TheSeventies: This movie is very '70s. How '70s is this movie, you ask? One of the five secrets that are thought to be no big deal, definitely not worth killing over, is ''child molester''.
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* TheSeventies: This movie is very '70s. How '70s is this movie, you ask? One of the five secrets that are thought to be no big deal, definitely not worth killing over, is ''child molester''. Another of the five secrets is 'informant' - not for turning someone into the police, but for giving names to the House Committee of Internal Security - formerly known as the Un-American Activities Committee. [[note]] The name was changed in 1963, the Committee itself was dissolved in 1975[[/note]].
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* TheReveal: [[spoiler:Tom killed both Clinton and Lee]]. Clinton's game wasn't about [[spoiler: his wife's death at all, it was just him screwing with his guests because he's a {{Jerkass}}-- Lee's secret wasn't "Hit-and-run killer", even though she ''actually was'' the hit-and-run driver who killed Sheila it was "Alcoholic". Tom changed the cards when he whipped up a spur-of-the-moment plan to kill Clinton and Lee, thus allowing him to make the script he sold to Clinton, with Lee's money]].
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* TheReveal: [[spoiler:Tom killed Several! [[spoiler:Tom]] killed[[spoiler: both Clinton and Lee]]. Clinton's game wasn't about [[spoiler: his wife's death at all, it was just him screwing with his guests because he's a {{Jerkass}}-- {{Jerkass}}. Lee's secret wasn't "Hit-and-run killer", even though she ''actually was'' the hit-and-run driver who killed Sheila it was "Alcoholic". Tom changed the cards when he whipped up a spur-of-the-moment plan to kill Clinton and Lee, thus allowing him to make the script he sold to Clinton, with Lee's money]].
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* TheReveal: [[spoiler:Tom]] killed both Clinton and [[spoiler:Lee]]. Clinton's game wasn't about his wife's death at all, it was just him screwing with his guests because he's a {{Jerkass}}--[[spoiler:Lee]]'s secret wasn't "Hit-and-run killer",[[spoiler: though she ''actually was'' the hit-and-run driver who killed Sheila]] it was "Alcoholic". [[spoiler:Tom changed the cards when he whipped up a spur-of-the-moment plan to kill Clinton and Lee, thus allowing him to make the script he sold to Clinton, with Lee's money]].
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* TheReveal: [[spoiler:Tom]] [[spoiler:Tom killed both Clinton and [[spoiler:Lee]]. Lee]]. Clinton's game wasn't about [[spoiler: his wife's death at all, it was just him screwing with his guests because he's a {{Jerkass}}--[[spoiler:Lee]]'s {{Jerkass}}-- Lee's secret wasn't "Hit-and-run killer",[[spoiler: killer", even though she ''actually was'' the hit-and-run driver who killed Sheila]] Sheila it was "Alcoholic". [[spoiler:Tom Tom changed the cards when he whipped up a spur-of-the-moment plan to kill Clinton and Lee, thus allowing him to make the script he sold to Clinton, with Lee's money]].
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* HorribleHollywood: A bunch of venal, selfish Hollywood types. The film ends with two people deciding to let a double murderer go free as long as they can get a movie produced as part of the deal.
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* HorribleHollywood: A bunch of venal, selfish Hollywood types. The film ends with [[spoiler: two people deciding to let a double murderer go free as long as they can get a movie produced as part of the deal.]]
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* {{Irony}}: the ending of the movie (see HorribleHollywood above) proves just what rotten friends these people are to each other. The final shot and ending credits are set to Bette Midler's song "(You've got to have) Friends".
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* ChekovsGun: The photo Clinton takes of his guests before they set sail (as seen in the page image). Also, [[spoiler: The actual name of the movie itself! The 'last of Sheila', taken literally, is the letter 'A', which is the card that Tom swapped out to make his spontaneous plot work, and later gives Phillip the clue he needs to work out the ''real'' story.]]
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* {{Jerkass}}: Clinton, who delights in embarrassing and humiliating his guests as he dangles the prospect of work in front of them.
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* {{Jerkass}}: Clinton, who delights in embarrassing and humiliating his guests as he dangles the prospect of work in front of them. [[spoiler: Honestly, it's a little surprising that no one murdered him sooner, given that this is noted to be typical of his behaviour.]]
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* FairPlayWhodunnit: Loaded throughout with clues that might help a viewer solve the mystery, like the group photo taken early in the story, or Tom's ChekhovsSkill, or the ice pick that one character is seen using right before another character can't find it.
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* FairPlayWhodunnit: Loaded throughout with clues that might help a viewer solve the mystery, like the [[spoiler: group photo taken early in the story, or Tom's ChekhovsSkill, or the ice pick that one character is seen using right before another character can't find it.it]].
