Mrs. Pollifax-Spy

"Mrs. Pollifax-Spy" is Rosalind Russell's last film. And, to make it more noteworthy, it's from a script she wrote herself using a pseudonym!

The story begins with Mrs. Pollifax (Russell) arriving at CIA headquarters and petitioning to become a spy! Considering she's a widow in her 60s, this is a tad unorthodox. But, surprisingly, they agree to have her come to work for them as a courier. Little does she know that this quick jaunt to Mexico will end up with her becoming a prisoner in Albania!!

This is a very light-weight film...neither bad nor especially good. I think the problem that prevented it from being better was that it wasn't exactly a comedy nor a serious drama....making it more one or the other would have made it a better film. But, if you allow yourself to throw realism out the window and just enjoy it as a time-passer, then it's worth your time.

I have been searching for this film for some time, having enjoyed the novel on which it was based, The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman. All book-to-film adaptations require changes being made, but as the script was written by the star herself - Rosalind Russell - it is surprising so many of these changes were badly thought out, even pointless on occasion. The rapport and camaraderie between Mrs. Pollifax and her co-agent Farrell is totally missing - in fact he is downright rude and hostile towards her for most of the film. Likewise, her boss Carstairs has little regard for Mrs. P. and scant concern for her wellbeing. For no good reason we get a scene in which Mrs. P.'s son is informed that his mother has become a CIA agent. The middle of the film drags, the ending is muddled, and the overall look is relentlessly drab.

And in stark contrast to the matronly Mrs. P. who does precious little spying or cloak and dagger stuff, the januty animated opening credits feature a tall, slender, sexy Mati Hari type spy who could not be further removed from Rosalind Russell c. 1970. It is a shame this was a missed opportunity for Ms. Russell to shine in what would sadly be her last feature film, however as other reviewers have commented it is not an embarrassment nor a cheap horror film. Roz went out a star, but unfortunately of a film that could have been so much better.

Odd but true, I missed seeing this film when it was new as I was a fairly busy man at the time. Little did I know at that time that this was to be the Roz's last major production. ........And because it was her last film, this is a shame that to my knowledge this has never seen the light of day since it first ran in theaters! What a crime, not only for Roz's fans but also to the fans of Mrs.Pollifax stories as well to be denied the pleasure of seeing the Roz in the Role of Mrs. Pollifax. So I am going to ask to whom it may concern: Please rescue the prints from the vault and put this out on DVD!! Heck, you don't even have to spend a ton of money to restore it to digital standards if you don't want to, just release it as a "budget special" for all I care!! I'd like to at least watch ANY VERSION of this before I check off for good!!!

So who cares if it isn't exactly Roz's greatest film? Who cares if this isn't the greatest filmed version of a Mrs. Pollifax story? What matters here is that this is Roz's LAST MOVIE and that alone makes it WORTH RELEASING TO DVD!!!

Like so many of her contemporaries Rosalind Russell was finding it difficult to get work without having to resort to the horror genre. I give her credit she never did do that. For her last big screen release she chose a film that was about a middle aged woman who now that her kids are grown and she's a widow decides that espionage is the career for her. With the help of her US Senator she gets an introduction to a top CIA man and says she wants to become Mrs. Pollifax-Spy.

As guileless as Russell is Dana Elcar decides maybe she will do at least as a courier. But through a series of mixups and missed signals Russell whose assignment was in Mexico is whisked off to Albania where she's held prisoner with professional spy Darren McGavin. Their Albanian prison is in the hands of a "Red" Chinese general Albert Paulsen with his second being Albanian Nehemiah Persoff. Paulsen's occidental features are explained that he's off mixed racial origin.

Mrs. Pollifax-Spy has the charm of Rosalind Russell to carry it over the rough spots which are many. I find it hard to wrap myself around the concept that at my age which is older than Russell's was as presented I could just get my Senator to just arrange an appointment with the CIA so I could apply to be a spy. People for that agency are recruited in all kinds of ways, but I doubt they just take people who ask to work. Even Dana Elcar says we get a lot of screwballs.

For Roz Russell fans.

Recently widowed empty-nester Mrs. Pollifax (Rosalind Russell) needs something to do and decides to seek gainful employment. So, she marches into the CIA and offers her services as a spy. Being an unassuming, older woman, one of the CIA bigwigs thinks she's perfect for simple courier missions. But when her first assignment to Mexico goes horribly wrong, Mrs. Pollifax finds herself in a world of trouble inside an Albaian prison.

Mrs. Pollifax-Spy isn't a bad movie by any means, it's just that it's not very good either. One of my main issues is the pacing. The film gets off to a fantastic start, complete with vibrant, interesting Mexican locations. These scenes have a real sense of fun and life to them. But, things change dramatically once Mrs. Pollifax finds herself in Albania. The pace slows to a crawl and it seems to take forever for much of anything to happen. Plus, the Albanian scenes are just so drab looking. I never knew there were that many shades of brown.

Russell's on-screen pairing with Darren McGavin took a while to grow on me. I"ve never seen him as the leading man type. But by the end, I was on board with their relationship. I suppose that is one bright spot from the movie's second half.

5/10