The sixties saw a craze for spy movies - the Bond films, the Harry Palmer films, plus countless others. Some were serious (e.g. The Defector, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold), others were very tongue-in-cheek (e.g. Our Man Flint, Operation Kid Brother) - but for a while the genre literally overflowed with releases. The twist in "Fathom" is that the all-action leading character is a girl. This is essentially a female variant of the James Bond movies, with sexy actors, sunny locales, a deliberately implausible bubble-gum plot and, of course, characters with outrageous names!
American lady skydiver Fathom Harvill (Raquel Welch) is touring Southern Europe when she is approached for a difficult espionage mission. Scottish colonel Douglas Campbell (Ronald Fraser), who claims to work for the top secret agency H.A.D.E.S, informs Fathom that a device for triggering atomic weapons has fallen into the hands of someone working for Red China. The device has allegedly been hidden inside a Ming dynasty dragon statuette, which is housed in a guarded villa close to the Mediterranean coast. Fathom's job is to parachute into the villa unobserved and recover the device. However, she meets Peter Merriweather (Tony Franciosa) - an agent in the employ of the Red Chinese - and he tells her that she has been hoodwinked by Campbell. Merriweather's story is that Campbell is not a government colonel at all, but a con man who is trying to pull off a jewellery heist by involving her (unwittingly) as a burglar. Poor Fathom cannot know who to trust, nor even which side she is on, as she gets drawn deeper into the plot..
"Fathom" is a light, breezy addition to the genre. The plot is absolute nonsense, of course, with characters that change sides more often than they might change underwear, and over-the-top action sequences between the plot twists. Welch isn't remotely challenged as an actress by her role as the titular character. Franciosa as the love-interest-who-might-be-a-villain smiles toothily a lot, and that's about all, in his easy-going role. The locations are appropriately gorgeous, Johnny Dankworth provides a jazzy score, and the film skims along brightly. When you sit down to watch a movie like this, you know just what you're getting. There's no grand intention here - these people simply want to entertain, and that's just what they've done in their simple way. Give it a fortnight and you'll have forgotten you've ever seen "Fathom". but it's harmless fun whilst on.
American lady skydiver Fathom Harvill (Raquel Welch) is touring Southern Europe when she is approached for a difficult espionage mission. Scottish colonel Douglas Campbell (Ronald Fraser), who claims to work for the top secret agency H.A.D.E.S, informs Fathom that a device for triggering atomic weapons has fallen into the hands of someone working for Red China. The device has allegedly been hidden inside a Ming dynasty dragon statuette, which is housed in a guarded villa close to the Mediterranean coast. Fathom's job is to parachute into the villa unobserved and recover the device. However, she meets Peter Merriweather (Tony Franciosa) - an agent in the employ of the Red Chinese - and he tells her that she has been hoodwinked by Campbell. Merriweather's story is that Campbell is not a government colonel at all, but a con man who is trying to pull off a jewellery heist by involving her (unwittingly) as a burglar. Poor Fathom cannot know who to trust, nor even which side she is on, as she gets drawn deeper into the plot..
"Fathom" is a light, breezy addition to the genre. The plot is absolute nonsense, of course, with characters that change sides more often than they might change underwear, and over-the-top action sequences between the plot twists. Welch isn't remotely challenged as an actress by her role as the titular character. Franciosa as the love-interest-who-might-be-a-villain smiles toothily a lot, and that's about all, in his easy-going role. The locations are appropriately gorgeous, Johnny Dankworth provides a jazzy score, and the film skims along brightly. When you sit down to watch a movie like this, you know just what you're getting. There's no grand intention here - these people simply want to entertain, and that's just what they've done in their simple way. Give it a fortnight and you'll have forgotten you've ever seen "Fathom". but it's harmless fun whilst on.