Mrs. Pollifax-Spy (1971)

A widowed New Jerseyan woman volunteers for spy duty at the CIA, being in her own opinion, expendable now that the children are grown, and is assigned to pick up a book in Mexico City, while finding out that it is easier said than done.

Director:

Leslie H. Martinson (as Leslie Martinson)

Writers:

Rosalind Russell (screenplay) (as C.A. McKnight), Dorothy Gilman (book)

Stars:

Rosalind Russell, Darren McGavin, Nehemiah Persoff

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Rosalind Russell	...	Mrs. Pollifax
Darren McGavin	...	Farrell
Nehemiah Persoff	...	Berisha
Harold Gould	...	Nexdhet
Albert Paulsen	...	Perdido
John Beck	...	Lulash
Dana Elcar	...	Carstairs
James Wellman	...	Mason
Dennis Cross	...	Bishop
Nick Katurich	...	Stefan
Don Diamond	...	DeGamez
Robert Donner	...	Larrabee
Tom Hallick	...	Roger

Storyline

Mrs. Emily Pollifax of New Jersey goes to the CIA to volunteer for spy duty, being in her own opinion, expendable now that the children are grown and she's widowed. And being just what the department needed (someone who looks and acts completely unlike a spy), she's assigned to simple courier duty to pick up a book in Mexico City. But when the pickup doesn't go as planned, Mrs. Pollifax finds herself handcuffed to a handsome stranger on a plane bound for an Albanian prison. And it's up to her to get them out.

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Plot Keywords:

mexico | widow | espionage | based on novel | grand teton national park | 

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Taglines:

Before the Albanians and the Red Chinese started chasing her, the only action she knew was enzyme action.

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy

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Certificate:

G

Did You Know?

Trivia

Producer Frederick Brisson turned down a request from Albania's United Nations delegation to desist from using a pair of Albanian flags in the movie.

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Goofs

When Mrs. Pollifax looks in the mirror at the reflection of her hotel door, the digits of her hotel room number (700) should all be mirror images, including the "7" digit, but although the digits are correctly reversed in their order (007), the "7" is NOT reversed, as its mirror image actually would be. This is presumably because the film-makers didn't want the audience to miss the allusion to James Bond's number, 007.

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Crazy Credits

Closing credits epilogue: Research for this film was done from a documentary picture-"The Three Faces of Communism" which was filmed in present day occupied Albania.

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Alternate Versions

CBS edited 28 minutes from this film for its 1975 network television premiere.

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Connections

Version of The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax (1999)

User Reviews

You just must see it! If only it were available!

Why Rosalind Russell's greatness has been so little appreciated is beyond me. The marvelous grand dame Russell is the epitome of brilliance, vigor and poise, always larger than life, as her courageous return to the stage conquering arthritis well shows. In fact the only small problem with this fantastic lady playing Mrs. Pollifax, is that her elegance and power are a bit at odds with the sweet, bumbling nature of the novel's character.

I love the Mrs. Pollifax mysteries nearly as much as I do beloved Rosalind, having read them many times, and so can see the slight difficulty, but as wonderful as Mrs. Pollifax's character is, and as absolutely phenomenal as dear Rosalind always is, the difficulty of fit is easy to overlook for the sheer joy of seeing two of my very favorite ladies merged as one for the occasion. The fact that Rosalind wrote the thing as well as starring in it (the movie, not the book) proves her excellence as if it needed any proof.

One of the superior characteristics of this "Mrs. Pollifax - Spy," versus what I've heard of Angela Lansbury's "Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax" is that I seem to recall that this one more nearly follows the "The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax" book, whereas the latter, despite having the same title, is a mixture of at least one more of the novels (one being "A Palm for Mrs. Pollifax" if the Swiss clinic is any clue), which helps to confuse the plot even more, as if Mrs. Pollifax weren't always inviting confusion just by being there! I'd probably love the latter too, so I don't mean too much criticism, but I much prefer having just one book's plot versus the confusion and dilution of piecing more than one book together, but most of all, as wonderful as dear, elegant Angela Lansbury is, there will never be another Rosalind Russell.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 February 1971 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

United Artists, Meteor Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color