Movie Review
Fathom
The world's most uncovered undercover agent!
US Release Date: 12-13-1967
Directed by: Leslie H. Martinson
Starring▸▾
- Anthony Franciosa, as
- Peter Merriwether
- Raquel Welch, as
- Fathom Harvill
- Ronald Fraser, as
- Colonel Campbell
- Richard Briers, as
- Timothy
- Greta Chi, as
- Jo-May
- Tom Adams, as
- Mike
- Elizabeth Ercy, as
- Ulla
- Ann Lancaster, as
- Mrs. Trivers
- Tutte Lemkow, as
- Mehmed
- Reg Lye, as
- Mr. Trivers
- Clive Revill as
- Serapkin
Eric:
Reviewed on: July 25th, 2016
Raquel Welch in Fathom
Fathom is an American dental hygienist whose hobby is skydiving. While on vacation in Spain, sky diving with some friends, she gets approached by a couple of British men who identify themselves as members of H.A.D.E.S., a secret British government organization that deals with international issues. They ask for her help in retrieving a nuclear device called the "Fire Dragon." They need her to use her parachuting skills and good looks to drop into a hill top chateau and start a device that will allow them to find the Fire Dragon. Don't think about the details, just accept that this hot dental hygienist decides to do as they ask.
Fathom soon meets several other men who all may or may not be lying to her. Every man she meets seems to want her for what she can help them find or for sex or both. Who can blame them as Raquel is never less than stunningly beautiful in every single scene. This girl survives murder attempts, car crashes, explosions and an attack from a bull when she accidentally runs into a bull ring dressed in a sexy little red dress. Throughout it all, her makeup never fails her, no matter what conditions she finds herself in and Fathom sure packed lots of clothes for this trip as she seems to constantly change what she is wearing.
Clearly, none of this was intend to be taken seriously. Come on, an international spy/dental hygienist. However, the laughs are few and far between. One running joke involves people asking Fathom about her name but it never truly becomes funny. The tone is usually kept very light but I was sometimes confused as to whether the film makers were intending this all as a comedy or were they simply inept at their jobs. During the bull ring scene it is all too obvious when a man in drag takes over for Raquel. One bad guy in particular seems more suitable for the 1966, Adam West Batman television series, which is understandable as director Leslie H. Martinson had just directed Batman: The Movie (1966).
The pace is very brisk, with Fathom going from one awkwardly dangerous situation to another. I was never actually bored. However, Fathom is a movie where plot is secondary to its star. Raquel Welch, one of the most beautiful women to ever grace a movie screen, is this film's greatest asset. She is in nearly every scene, including an extended one in a bikini. You can easily dismiss her acting as poor but then, this film was completely made with tongue in cheek. Her acting, or lack there of, adequately fulfills what this movie requires.
Fathom is a time capsule in that spy spoofs were a new genre in the 60s, in answer to the recent James Bond craze. It is truly no worse than Dean Martin as Matt Helm in The Silencer or Our Man Flint with James Coburn, both of which just came out in 1966. In fact, Fathom could be considered more entertaining than both of them as at least when the plot is not making sense, you can always be distracted by the gorgeous wonder of Raquel Welch. For my taste, she looks her best here when wet, making her big hair slick and her body glistening with moisture.
Photos © Copyright Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1967)