The Dorothy Gilman source novel had previously been filmed as Mrs. Pollifax-Spy (1971) with the title character played by Rosalind Russell, who shared with Angela Lansbury an iconic role in Mame Dennis - Russell on film with Auntie Mame (1958) and Lansbury on the Broadway stage with ''Mame''. Mrs. Pollifax would prove a footnote role in both actresses' output - being more significant in Russell's in that she played the role in her final cinematic outing.
This was produced for CBS, the same network that aired Lansbury's long-running hit, Murder She Wrote, and was likely considered to be the pilot for a possible follow up series (which never materialized).
This movie is very different from the book upon which it was based.