Fathom

Aside from her prehistoric antics ONE MILLION YEARS B.C., this is the quintessential Raquel Welch movie from her heyday as the ultimate 60's sexpot. The tone is light 'n bright in this bouncy adventure flick with Raquel doin' her swinging sixties thing in a colorful assortment of very suitable costumes. It's nice to see the lighter side of Ms. Welch after falling for her as an atonal cavegal with nothing to smile about. British jazz musician Johnny Dankworth provides a breezy pop score that caps things off quite nicely. A great mid-century, midnight flick.

Raquel Welch, at the peak of sexiness, does the perfect Bond girl one better--she's Bond herself! The flimsy and kooky premise has Fathom caught up in a international hunt for a Red Chinese nuclear device hidden in a Ming Dynasty dragon statuette. She dodges bullets, jumps out of planes, and plays each side against one another, all along looking sensational. This is a stylish little movie directed by the same guy who later delivered such colorful TV fluff as "The Brady Bunch," "Wonder Woman," and "Fantasy Island." But the real draw is the understated almost smirky performance by Raquel. Raquel's Fathom is all woman: a gorgeous fashion-plate, yet strong, smart, and very much in control. Catch her if you can!

In 1965 a then little-known young actress named Raquel Welch auditioned for the part in "Thunderball" that eventually went to Claudine Auger. Raquel never achieved her ambition to become a Bond Girl, but two years later, and by then a rising starlet, she went one better. She became a female Bond.

"Fathom" is a typical example of the sort of spy comedy-thrillers that were popular in the sixties. It shares its continental European setting with the likes of "The Prize" and "Charade". Raquel plays Fathom Harvill, a member of the American national sky-diving team, who finds herself at the centre of an espionage drama while on a visit to Spain. (We are offered a number of contradictory, and increasingly surreal, explanations for the heroine's unusual Christian name, without it ever being established which one is correct).

The plot is a complex and confusing one; even Raquel's co-star Richard Briers punned that he could not fathom it. At the centre of the action is a mysterious object named the "Fire Dragon", which may be either a triggering device for atomic bombs or a stolen artwork. In search of the Fire Dragon are Colonel Campbell and his sidekick Timothy Webb who may be either members of the British secret services or international art thieves and Peter Merriwether and his attractive female assistant Jo-May, who may be either private detectives or agents for Red China. (Ignore the cast list which names Jo-May as a Major in the KGB, which was of course a Russian agency rather than a Chinese one). Somewhere in the middle is Sergei Serapkin, a villainous Russian tycoon who has designs both on the Fire Dragon and on the lovely Fathom.

Even though a few people end up dead, the mood is light-hearted, and even one of the corpses manages to rise, Lazarus-like, from the dead. The film's main asset is the presence of Raquel Welch herself, the most beautiful Hollywood sex symbol of the late sixties and seventies. (As most of her early films, she spends much of the time in a bikini). I cannot, however, agree with the reviewer who said that she was at the peak of her sexiness- Raquel's sexiness took the form of a plateau rather than a peak, as she remained as attractive throughout her thirties and forties as she was in her twenties. Her acting skills are never seriously tested, but she succeeds in making Fathom a likable heroine as well as a sexy one. The film does not make a great deal of sense, but then it was never intended to. It succeeds in being what it was intended to be- slick, glossy, glamorous and entertaining nonsense. 6/10

Raquel Welch in her sex symbol prime makes this picture worth seeing. I kind of wish the script had made her character a little more intelligent, but the film is an entertaining, breezy diversion. Clive Revill also delivers a very funny performance.

Let's face it, unless you are a BIG fan of "B"-grade 60's spy flicks, and can't get your hands on a "Matt Helm" copy, the ONLY reason you would watch this film is for the incredible Raquel Welch. For the most fun, turn the sound down and make up your own dialogue as you go along.