Miss Beautiful

As the title implies, THE NIGHT THEY TOOK MISS BEAUTIFUL offers up some hokey enjoyment. This obscure made-for-television effort introduces us to two dim-witted terrorists who hijack a charter plane full of beauty contestants and, unbeknownst to them, a pilot secretly carrying a deadly biological agent!

THE NIGHT THEY TOOK MISS BEAUTIFUL is not exactly grade A suspense, but nor is it boring or lacking in merit. In some ways it's just another lame '70s film, complete with cardboard characters, but in others it's surprisingly ambitious. Some scenes, particularly Mrs. Barrett's urging her daughter to give in to a horny terrorist, are painfully awkward; while others, especially those surrounding the much-feared biological agent, are quite fun.

It's a mixed bag, to be sure, and those with an appetite for cheesiness will appreciate it more than most. Watch for TV legend Phil Silvers in one of his final roles.