Fathom

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!

I'd never seen or even heard of this offering in the 60's comedy spy genre until Film 4 padded out their evening schedule with it. How dated it all looked, understandably. But it was a jolly romp, great locations and with pretty good enthusiastically staged stunts. Ms Welch was very decorative as usual and the Britsh character actors excellent in support. Good to see Tom Adams in a solid supporting role, Clive Revill was always good value in this sort of movie too. Amazingly the two aircraft flown in this movie, a Cessna 172 and a Piper Cherokee 180, are still active and licenced in the UK, wearing their original registrations, forty years after the film was made.

This is the quintessential Raquel Welch movie. In her most beautiful prime (27) and in a plot that allows for many opportunities to display that beauty, she shows why she was the ultimate sex symbol of the sixties, and, for many of us, of all time. Most of her films never fully captured her incredible appeal; this one does!

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.

Skydiving dental assistant from La Jolla, CA finds herself in hot water while touring Spain after she's recruited by two blokes from Western Intelligence to locate a stolen treasure from the Ming Dynasty--the elusive Fire Dragon! Opening credits montage with Raquel Welch as Fathom Harvill packing her parachute is so frisky and welcoming, it sets the perfect light tone for the rest of the picture. The clever screenplay by Lorenzo Semple Jr., adapting an unpublished novel by Larry Forrester, is full of fresh, funny banter (with an amusing running joke that has different characters speculating on how Fathom got her name: "As a child you were very...deep?"). One of Welch's best films, with Clive Revill fabulous in support as an eccentric collector allergic to cold weather. Beautiful locales, a wonderful score by John Dankworth, plus a terrific airplane-chase finale. Good show! ***1/2 from ****