Nas Malhas da Espionagem

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.

Rosalind Russell is as fine an actress at the end as she was in her prime. She actually fit Dorothy Gilman's suburban-retiree-detective-spy Mrs. Polifax to a tee. The supporting cast seems to be enjoying her antics as much as we do. The script is very silly and pedestrian, but given the genre, it's implausability does not get in the way of some great fun.

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

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.

"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.