Gilman's clever, popular twist on the genre caught the attention of Rosalind Russell's husband, theatrical producer Frederick Brisson, who purchased the novel shortly after its release in 1969 with the intention of developing it as a future project for his wife. The production timeline was advanced when Russell, who had been lobbying to play Coco Chanel in the Broadway musical Coco, did not get the part (which went to Katharine Hepburn) and was now available and in need of a project. Brisson stepped in with The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax, which eventually made it to the screen as Mrs. Pollifax Spy.
With a final screenplay by Rosalind Russell using a pen name, the production of Mrs. Pollifax Spy was directed by Leslie H. Martinson, a veteran who had cut his teeth on dozens of television episodes, moved into features with P.T. 109 in 1963, then moved back into a steady career directing many popular, top-rated TV series of the 1960s. Russell had seen and been impressed with his 1967 tongue-in-cheek espionage adventure Fathom starring Raquel Welch, and felt he had the right touch for her own lighthearted spy caper.
Producer Brisson assembled a cast of gifted actors to support his wife, including the droll Darren McGavin, who, though known mainly at the time as a dramatic actor, would get the chance to use his comedic talent in Mrs. Pollifax Spy. (Screen newcomer Gene Hackman had also been up for the role.) The rest of the cast was composed of veteran "I-know-his-face-but-I-don't-know-his-name" character actors such as Nehemiah Persoff, Harold Gould, Albert Paulsen, Robert Donner, Dana Elcar, John Beck and many others. Even though Miss Russell was in her early sixties, the shooting schedule and sheer rigor of the multi-location action comedy was eagerly anticipated by all.
With most of the on-screen action supposed to be taking place in the far-off but very real People's Republic of Albania, there were concerns that this would be a runaway production, but there were never any plans to shoot the film anywhere but in the U.S. with a few locations in Mexico. To double for Albania, the filmmakers lucked upon the spectacular Jackson Hole, Wyoming, terrain with its myriad of breathtaking vistas and rugged Grand Teton mountain locales which could perfectly capture the remote mystery of the Albanian landscape. In August of 1969 a cast and crew of over 100 descended upon Jackson Hole, receiving a gala welcome and finding a local populace ready and willing to help the moviemakers throughout the production.
According to Walt Farmer, whose Wyoming Film History book details the filming of this and other locally-produced movies, Rosalind Russell, though afraid of heights, bravely rode an aerial tram to the filming location every day, and other crewmembers tackled treacherous and twisting mountain roads to transport equipment to the site. One of the biggest props brought from California to the location was a pair of huge doors, previously seen as the castle entrance in Camelot (1967). Too big to be trucked in, these enormous structures had to be attached to the bottom of the tram in order to be hauled up, dangling ominously from it until it reached the peak. The primary filming location at the top, at a startling 10,450 feet altitude, was an area surrounding the tram station, where midday storms would often halt filming for several hours.
Despite the obvious hardships of simply getting the movie made, Rosalind Russell was also not in perfect health, having undergone an earlier double mastectomy. Now she found herself battling what she would later learn was rheumatoid arthritis. At first she believed the pain in her fingers and joints and her swollen hands were due to the often brutally cold conditions at the Wyoming film locations. During filming she was dunked several times in icy water, but despite her own discomfort, she'd offer up her own mittens and scarves to a crewmember whenever she would spot one shivering with cold. Though the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis wasn't a direct result of the bitter conditions during the filming of Mrs. Pollifax Spy, it was still a daunting and exhausting shoot. The movie would turn out to be Russell's last feature film, though she did make one more movie-for-television in 1972, The Crooked Hearts. Rosalind Russell died in 1976.
Reviews for Mrs. Pollifax Spy were decidedly mixed. Many critics enjoyed Rosalind Russell's plucky performance and the contributions of the talented supporting cast. Others faulted the overlong and excessively intricate script which Ms. Russell had written. Perhaps it was just that this quirky, unique and lighthearted spy picture was too untypical of the genre to make it a popular success plus it lacked a hip hook for younger audiences. Nevertheless, as the last screen appearance of the bigger-than-life and always enchanting Rosalind Russell, Mrs. Pollifax Spy is an utterly delightful and rarely seen treat.
Producer: Frederick Brisson, Charles Forsythe
Director: Leslie H. Martinson
Screenplay: Rosalind Russell, Dorothy Gilman (novel)
Cinematography: Joseph F. Biroc
Film Editing: Fred Bohanan, Gene Milford
Art Direction: Jack Poplin
Music: Lalo Schifrin
Cast: Rosalind Russell (Mrs. Emily Pollifax), Darren McGavin (Farrell), Nehemiah Persoff (Berisha), Harold Gould (Nexdhet), Albert Paulsen (Perdido), John Beck (Lulash).
C-110m. Letterboxed.
by Lisa Mateas
