Mrs. Pollifax -- Spy on AllMovie

Rosalind Russell plays Mrs. Pollifax in this film, thus joining together a well-loved movie star and a well-loved fictional spy. Based on Dorothy Gillman's novel The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax, the story concerns a widow who, feeling she has nothing much to lose, volunteers her services to the CIA saying "I am ready to die for my country." The CIA does not leap at this curious offer, but she is persistent, and eventually she is picked to play the role of tourist, accompanied and protected by a "real" CIA agent (Darren McGavin). The purpose of her trip is to pick up some much-sought-after microfilm. When she and her protector are captured and taken to Albania, her charm and wits save the day. This is one of Rosalind Russell's final films and not a well-regarded one. However, she must have wanted to do it very much, as she wrote the screenplay (under the penname C. A. McKnight).