Dorothy Gilman's book, "The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax", becomes wan vehicle for the winded Rosalind Russell, who adapted the screenplay herself under the pseudonym C.A. McKnight. Small town widow with nothing but time on her hands marches into the C.I.A. one day and volunteers her services; very soon, she's on assignment as a courier in Mexico, but the pick-up gets botched and she's kidnapped and taken to Albania. After a sprightly animated credits sequence, and the potentially interesting caviat that retired persons need to be stimulated by worthwhile adventures (even going so far as to become "expendable" for their services), this turgid tale fails to give us any undercover excitement. Russell isn't the plucky heroine one might hope for; she's a bit bleary around the edges, and her motherly nagging isn't the amusement it's supposed to be. This film has some of the most ungainly cinematography I've ever seen; Joe Biroc must have been nutty for browns and tans--his whole movie looks like a beige nightmare. Odd supporting cast--including Harold Gould, Nehemiah Persoff, square-jawed John Beck, and Darrin McGavin as the proverbial girl-chasing agent--are all pretty dreary. *1/2 from ****