Charlie's Angels (1979)

The three "Angels" are hired to protect an Ambassador (Dennis Cole), who, rumor has it, is about to be kidnapped. The reason is obscure at best: he once attended a banking symposium in Italy and was the target of protesters. They suspect that the same group who protested his arrival in Italy is behind the kidnapping threats. The Ambassador refuses to alter any of his plans, so the Angels accompany him to Colorado, undercover.

In Colorado, Jaclyn Smith takes on the role as his personal bodyguard (Dennis Cole either was, or was soon to be, her real life husband, briefly), while the other two snoop around the area, and Bosley adopts Cole's shy, overworked assistant and teaches her how to stand up for herself.

A series of strange disappearances and shootings take place, as the unknown assailants (unknown to them anyway - Rossano is their leader and the father of one of them) continue to attempt to isolate the Ambassador.

Eventually, they snag Kate Jackson and hold her for ransom, but she escapes, convincing the son that, whatever political reasoning they may have had originally, when people start getting killed, their noble cause is no longer noble at all. Rossano's character dies in a shoot-out in the middle of the ski resort.

For those of us interested in seeing Rossano in a form-fitted ski suit, plotting the abduction of Dennis Cole and actually doing some skiing, this is a lovely episode. (We're not saying he caused the Olympic downhill champions of the period any sleepless nights, just that he knew his skiing fundamentals and could maneuver his way down a hill without landing on his antipasto. Such a multi-talented man we've found to admire, eh?)

On the downside, you have to sit through the three "Angels" and Dennis Cole, and even nostalgia might not get you through that experience, as muddled as it is. But our hero looks absolutely charming in his ski suit!

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