Mrs. Pollifax-Spy

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.