10 JUNE 2023
JBC rating: ***
James Bond Connections (2):
- Titles by Maurice Binder (Bond title sequence designer, various 1962 – 1989).
- Screenplay by Lorenzo Semple Jr (Writer, Never Say Never Again, 1983).
Two years after her near miss at playing Bond girl Domino in Thunderball (1965), American actress Raquel Welch (above) starred as the eponymous hero in Fathom which is essentially a James Bond-style action-adventure movie. Based on Larry Forrester’s unpublished sequel to his spy novel A Girl called Fathom, it seems likely 20th Century Fox hoped to create a female-led alternative Bond series. Another Bond imitator, Modesty Blaise (1966), is also an influence. Both films share scores by The Avengers composer John Dankworth, with each featuring an angelic choir melody for the female hero. However, while Modesty Blaise retains greater cultural significance, Fathom is the more accessible and entertaining film.
Raquel Welch brings warmth, charisma, and fun to her role as Fathom Harper, a touring American skydiver. Whilst competing in Spain, Fathom is approached for help by Scottish Colonel Campbell (Ronald Fraser) and his English assistant Flight Lt Timothy (Richard Briers), who claim to be Western Intelligence agents. They are trying to retrieve the Fire Dragon, apparently a gadget capable of activating atomic warheads, before the unscrupulous merchant Peter Merriweather risks Armageddon by selling it to Communist China. Enlisted for her skydiving skills, Fathom reluctantly agrees to “accidentally” parachute into Merriweather’s villa to help commence surveillance operations.
Whilst Fathom is a civilian, her Bond-like skill set – she’s also an accomplished pilot – means she is no damsel in distress. Resourceful, resilient, and physically adept, she proves a worthy adversary for the villains. The plot thickens when Fathom is caught by Merriweather. Despite being set up as the chief villain, American actor Tony Franciosa plays his slippery merchant with enough roguish charm to also be credible as a potential love interest. Merriweather releases Fathom, unaware she has successfully activated a recording device. Fathom is persuaded to continue helping Colonel Campbell and Timothy when they connect Merriweather to visiting Russian tycoon Serapkin. New Zealand-born character actor Clive Revill (above) has a fun turn as the eccentric villain, who is in Spain to pick up the Fire Dragon along with as many beautiful young women as he can. In an amusing scene, Fathom must play along with the Russian’s romantic approaches long enough to allow her “flammable earring” to start a fire in Serapkin’s yacht and enable her to rob his safe.
Fathom soon shifts gears from spy thriller to crime caper when it is revealed the Fire Dragon is actually “just” a priceless piece of treasure. Many of the plot points in the remainder of Lorenzo Semple Jr’s fast-moving script owe a lot to Charade (1963), with Fathom unable to trust any of the rogue’s gallery of characters in deadly competition with each other. Like characters in the earlier film, Colonel Campbell and Timothy start shifting their story. Tony Adams’ deadly hotel manager presents a more immediate threat when he tries to harpoon Fathom. However, Fathom retains a Bond-esque flavour throughout, with fights and chases based on land, water and in the air. While none of the action matches anything in a Bond movie, Franco’s Spain, featured here just before mass tourism transformed the landscape, provides a ruggedly beautiful setting.
OBJECTIFIED YET HEROIC
Overwhelmingly attractive, Fathom receives more overt attention from the opposite sex (albeit mostly unwanted) than any iteration of Bond. Maurice Binder’s opening credits, basically a Bond title sequence without the silhouettes, follows every curve of Fathom’s body. Anticipating recent 007 films, where Daniel Craig is heroic but also objectified, the camera is no less attentive to Fathom throughout the film as she sports a variety of racy bikinis and revealing dresses. Unlike Bond, she doesn’t acquiesce to several romantic advances throughout the film. Although romance with Merriweather appears to be on the cards as the film closes, Fathom does none of the chasing.
Fathom is a fun comedy thriller and a respectable, female-led entry to the packed canon of 1960s Bond imitators. It’s a shame there wasn’t a sequel as Raquel Welch makes for an engaging star in an excitingly scripted film. Despite displaying several qualities, Fathom followed Modesty Blaise as another unsuccessful attempt to launch a female-led cinematic rival to the James Bond franchise. Perhaps, like the earlier film and many other 1960s Bond imitators such as The Liquidator (1965), one or two existing novels just didn’t provide a strong enough level of demand for a popular cinematic franchise.