Fathom (1967 Film)
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''Fathom '' is a 1967 British
spy Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ''e ...
comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...
directed by
Leslie H. Martinson Leslie Herbert Martinson (January 16, 1915 – September 3, 2016) was an American television and film director. Career Martinson was born to Gertrude and Lewis Martinson in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 16, 1915. He had a brother named Ber ...
, starring
Raquel Welch Jo Raquel Welch (; September 5, 1940 – February 15, 2023) was an American actress. Welch first gained attention for her role in ''Fantastic Voyage'' (1966), after which she signed a long-term contract with 20th Century Fox. They lent her con ...
and
Anthony Franciosa Anthony George Franciosa (né Papaleo; October 25, 1928 – January 19, 2006) was an American actor most often billed as Tony Franciosa at the height of his career. He began his career on stage and made a breakthrough portraying the brother of t ...
. The film was based on Larry Forrester's second ''Fathom'' novel ''Fathom Heavensent'', then in the draft stage but never published. His first was 1967's ''A Girl Called Fathom''. This was one of three 1967 20th Century Fox films about female spies, the others being
Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress and singer. She began her career as a big band singer in 1937, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, "Sentimental Journey ...
's '' Caprice'' and
Andrea Dromm Andrea Dromm (born February 18, 1941) is a former American actress. Her father was an engineer, and she attended school in Patchogue and later in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Career Dromm's career began as a child model at the age of six, but she ...
's '' Come Spy with Me''. Writer Lorenzo Semple said "It could have been very good. It's so confused. I watched it a couple of times, and I really didn’t know what was gonna happen! I didn't know who done it or what they'd done!"


Plot

Fathom Harvill, a
skydiver Parachuting and skydiving are methods of descending from a high point in an atmosphere to the ground or ocean surface with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or multiple parachutes. For hu ...
, is in Spain with a U.S. parachute team. She accepts a lift from a man called Timothy and is taken to see Douglas Campbell, who convinces her that he is a British agent working for
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
and wants Fathom to help him find a triggering mechanism for a
nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear exp ...
that has gone missing in the Mediterranean. He tells her that the device is hidden inside an ancient Chinese figurine known as the
Fire Dragon ''Fire Dragon'' (火雲傳奇) is a 1994 Hong Kong wuxia film directed by Yuen Woo-ping. It stars Brigitte Lin in the titular role. Plot Ah Ha (Brigitte Lin) is an assassin known as Fire Dragon serving the evil Sixth Prince (Tan Lap-Man), who ...
. Following Campbell's plan, Fathom skydives into the villa of Peter Merriwether, who has a Chinese assistant, Jo-May Soon, and is also searching for the figurine. She finds a dead body and is caught by Merriwether, who accuses her of the murder. Fathom convinces Merriwether that she is innocent. He tells her that the nuclear weapon story was a ruse, the Fire Dragon was stolen from a Far East museum by a
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
deserter, Merriwether is a private investigator, and Campbell is the deserter. Also in hot pursuit of the figurine is Serapkin, a rich Armenian private collector who wants it for himself. After fending off a knife attack and another from a
harpoon A harpoon is a long, spear-like projectile used in fishing, whaling, sealing, and other hunting to shoot, kill, and capture large fish or marine mammals such as seals, sea cows, and whales. It impales the target and secures it with barb or ...
, Fathom chances upon the figurine in her makeup case. Campbell now convinces her that he is the trustworthy one and Merriwether the deserter. Fathom boards a plane with him and Timothy, but they promptly attempt to toss her from it with a defective parachute. Merriwether catches up with them in another plane and the two pilots have a duel in the air, trying to force the other down into the sea. Merriwether shoots Campbell dead. When Timothy produces a gun, Fathom fights him for it, leading to Timothy falling out of the plane. Now revealed as the good guy, Merriwether, with the leverage of Fathom's passport which he has, persuades her—after she passes over the villa and tosses the Fire Dragon down to Jo-May Soon to return it to China—to meet him later in a bar.


Cast

As appearing in screen credits (main roles identified):Fathom credits
/ref>


Production


Development

The film was made by 20th Century Fox to cash in on the ''
Modesty Blaise ''Modesty Blaise'' is a British comic strip featuring a fictional character of the same name, created by author Peter O'Donnell and illustrator Jim Holdaway in 1963. The strip follows Modesty Blaise, an exceptional young woman with many talen ...
'' comic strip and
film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...
, which featured a female
secret agent Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ''e ...
. It was written by
Lorenzo Semple Jr Lorenzo Elliott Semple III (March 27, 1923 – March 28, 2014), known professionally as Lorenzo Semple Jr., was an American writer. He is best known for his work on the television series ''Batman'', as well as political thriller films ''The Paral ...
and directed by Leslie Martinson who had just made the film of the TV show ''
Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...
''. Semple says the studio were attracted by the fact that he and Martinson had made ''Batman'' so quickly and cheaply. Semple said "Fox bought a novel called FATHOM, about a big, tall girl. She was called Fathom because she was six feet tall. They thought that would be their Modesty Blaise." He wrote the script in
Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), known professionally as Boris Karloff () and occasionally billed as Karloff the Uncanny, was a British actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstei ...
's old house. Semple wrote the first twenty pages "making it up as I went along... I made every page exciting". Semple says he sent the first twenty pages to Fox and David Brown and
Richard Zanuck Richard Darryl Zanuck (; December 13, 1934 – July 13, 2012) was an American film producer. His 1989 film ''Driving Miss Daisy'' won the Academy Award for Best Picture. He was also instrumental in launching the career of director Steven Spielber ...
liked it. They gave it to John Koch, who they wanted to produce. Koch insisted on writing the script with Semple line by line. The lead was given to Raquel Welch, who was only 5 feet, 6 inches tall, so they had to make up explanations of why she was called Fathom. She was a 20th Century Fox contractee who had leapt to fame with ''
Fantastic Voyage ''Fantastic Voyage'' is a 1966 American science fiction adventure film directed by Richard Fleischer and written by Harry Kleiner, based on a story by Otto Klement and Jerome Bixby. The film is about a submarine crew who is shrunk to microsco ...
'' and ''
One Million Years B.C. ''One Million Years B.C.'' is a 1966 British Adventure film, adventure fantasy film directed by Don Chaffey. The film was produced by Hammer Film Productions and Seven Arts Productions, Seven Arts, and is a remake of the 1940 American fantasy f ...
''. This inspired Fox to give her her first starring vehicle. Semple recalled "The movie MODESTY BLAISE came out and it was a spectacular flop. So that cooled off the whole project, they were stuck with it."


Filming

Filming started September 1966. It was shot in
Cártama Cártama is a town and municipality in the province of Málaga, part of the autonomous community of Andalusia, southern Spain. The municipality is situated approximately from Málaga. It is one of the most extensive towns in the province, coverin ...
,
Mijas Mijas ( ; ) is a municipality in the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Located on the southeastern coast of Spain, Mijas belongs to the region of Costa del Sol Occidental. Its center is a typical Andalusian white- ...
,
Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...
,
Torremolinos Torremolinos () is a municipality in Andalusia, southern Spain, west of Málaga. A poor fishing village before the growth in tourism began in the late 1950s, Torremolinos was the first of the Costa del Sol resorts to be developed and is still th ...
,
Nerja Nerja () is a municipality on the Costa del Sol in the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain. It is part of the comarca of La Axarquía. It is on the country's southern Mediterranean coast, about east of ...
, in
Andalucía Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...
, Spain and
Shepperton Studios Shepperton Studios is a film studio located in Shepperton, Surrey, England, with a history dating back to 1931. It is now part of Pinewood Group, the Pinewood Studios Group. During its early existence, the studio was branded as Sound City (not ...
,
Shepperton Shepperton is a village in the Borough of Spelthorne, Spelthorne district, in north Surrey, England, around south west of central London. The settlement is on the north bank of the River Thames, between the towns of Chertsey and Sunbury-on-Tha ...
,
Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
, England. Semple says that Welch and Martinson had a fight on the first day of filming and never spoke throughout the rest of the shoot. Semple also said "
Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" * Franco of Cologne (mid to late 13th cent ...
was still in command then, there were a lot of things in the script they didn't like, so a lot of the script was thrown away on the first days shooting." Second unit director
Peter Medak Péter Medák (born 23 December 1937) is a Hungarians in the United Kingdom, Hungarian-British film and television director. Early life Born in Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary, Hungary, he was the son of Elisabeth (née Diamounstein) and Gyula Med ...
later said of working with Welch:
She was at that time quite inexperienced, exactly like one of those American drum majorettes. But she tried very hard and went to see the rushes each day, gradually improving. 'Who's this dumb broad?' people used to say. But I said: 'You wait. I'll bet she made it.' I liked her very much because she was such a genuine person. And she had a beautiful body which always helps.
"I played a blown up
Barbie doll Barbie is a fashion doll created by American businesswoman Ruth Handler, manufactured by American toy and entertainment company Mattel and introduced on March 9, 1959. The toy was based on the German Bild Lilli doll which Handler had purchas ...
", said Welch later. "I have never appeared completely nude but I don't condemn people who do." Shortly after filming ended Welch announced she would marry her manager, Patrick Curtis.


Music

All the film's musical score was composed by
John Dankworth Sir John Phillip William Dankworth, CBE (20 September 1927 – 6 February 2010), also known as Johnny Dankworth, was an English jazz composer, saxophonist, clarinettist and writer of film scores. With his wife, jazz singer Dame Cleo Laine, he ...
. An official soundtrack was released in 1967 in the United States by
20th Century Fox Records 20th Century Fox Records (also known as 20th Fox Records and 20th Century Records, or simply 20th Century Fox Film Scores and Fox Records) was a wholly owned subsidiary of film studio 20th Century Fox. The history of the label covers three distin ...
and
Stateside Records Stateside Records, styled as $tateside Records, is a British record label, owned by Warner Music Group and operates through its Parlophone and Warner Records imprints. Upon creation, it initially released licensed American recordings and is n ...
in the U.K. on an 11-track
vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...
. It was reissued on CD by Harkit Records as a twelve track in 2009.


Release

The film was released in the United States on 9 August 1967 and in the United Kingdom on 1 October 1967. The U.K. theatrical release was cut with the
British Board of Film Classification The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is a non-governmental organization, non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of films exhibited ...
giving a U (Universal) Suitable for all rating.


Reception


Box office

According to Fox records, the film needed to earn $3,875,000 in rentals to break even and made $3,295,000, meaning it made a loss. Semple says it was "meant to be a series, but it was killed."


Critical response

''
The Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...
'' wrote: "This comedy-thriller from the director of ''
Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...
'' belongs not in the category of High Camp but in that of Good Wholesome Fun. It manages to impart a charm and freshness to all the best worn clichés of the spy film send-up, partly because – between the lazy falling of billowing scarlet parachutes with which it opens, and the graceful ballet for two planes with which it ends – it moves at a dizzying pace, but also because it is quite simply a pretty film to watch. But ''Fathom's'' biggest surprise is Raquel Welch, who gives an enchanting performance as the heroine, an amateur Modesty Blaise who wears the shortest of skirts and the lowest of necklines but exudes an air of bewildered indignation when anyone so much as tries to kiss her. Clive Revill is suitably sinister as Serapkin, whose abnormally low body temperature requires him to wear an off-white body-stocking even in his most amorous moments. The dialogue is corny, and the plot absurd, but it doesn't really seem to matter." ''
The Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper in the U.S. and the larges ...
'' film critic said that "each new Raquel Welch picture brings further proof that when
Maria Montez María África Gracia Vidal (6 June 1912 – 7 September 1951), known professionally as Maria Móntez, was a Dominican actress who gained fame and popularity in the 1940s starring in a series of filmed-in-Technicolor costume adventure fil ...
died they didn't break the mold. Like Maria, Raquel can't act from here to there, but both ladies seem to have been born to be photographed... this sappiest of spy pictures." ''The'' ''New York Times'' called it "crackling good fun" and said, "Somewhere between her unfortunate arrival in the revival of ''
One Million Years B.C. ''One Million Years B.C.'' is a 1966 British Adventure film, adventure fantasy film directed by Don Chaffey. The film was produced by Hammer Film Productions and Seven Arts Productions, Seven Arts, and is a remake of the 1940 American fantasy f ...
'' and the new film...Miss Welch has learned to act." ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' wrote: "Miss Welch is fascinating to watch and Franciosa, mebbe a good guy, mebbe a baddie, handles himself with competency. Ronald Fraser plays the Scotsman and Clive Revill is called upon to overplay a mysterious character named Serapkin, one of those out to get the Fire Dragon. Richard Briers, Greta Chi and Tom Adams lend able support. Technical credits are exceptionally well executed, particularly the parachute sequences devised by Ken Vos and filmed by Jacques Dubourg. Regular photography by Douglas Slocombe is interesting, as is art direction by Maurice Carter, and Max Benedict's editing is fluid. Music score by John Dankworth furnishes melodic backing."


See also

*
List of American films of 1967 This is a list of American films released in 1967. '' In the Heat of the Night'' won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Box office January–March A-D E-H I-P R-Z Documentaries Other See also * 1967 in the United Stat ...


References


External links

* * *
Film review
by
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fathom (Film) 1967 films 1967 action comedy films 1960s spy comedy films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films CinemaScope films American action comedy films British action comedy films American spy comedy films British spy comedy films Films directed by Leslie H. Martinson Films with screenplays by Lorenzo Semple Jr. Films based on British novels 20th Century Fox films Skydiving in fiction Films set in the Mediterranean Sea Films set in Spain Girls with guns films Films scored by John Dankworth Parody films based on James Bond films English-language action adventure films English-language action comedy films