Goldfinger (1964)

Movie Info

I’ve never done a gold lady…

James Bond (Sean Connery) is contacted by CIA agent Felix Leiter (Cec Linder) in Miami, Florida to investigate a gold obsessed eccentric bullion dealer named Auric Goldfinger (Gert Frobe). When Goldfinger crosses James by killing a woman named Jill Masterson (Shirley Eaton), 007 is out to stop Goldfinger and exposes something called “Operation Grand Slam”. James must raid Fort Knox and stop Auric and his henchman Oddjob (Harold Sakata) and might find help from Goldfinger’s assistant Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman).

Directed by Guy Hamilton, Goldfinger was the third James Bond film in the series. Following From Russia With Love in1963, Goldfinger was based on Ian Fleming’s 1959 novel Goldfinger. It’s title song “Goldfinger” was sung by Shirley Bassey (who also sang the themes for Diamonds are Forever and Moonraker). Goldfinger also won an Academy Award for Best Sound Effects (the first for a Bond film).

“No Mr. Bond…I expect you to die!” Maniacal laughter

Goldfinger is the quintessential Bond film and often considered the best in the twenty plus series. It is my favorite Bond film because it really establishes everything you think of as “Bond” by bringing strings of the first two movies together into the Bond which became popular. Q (Desmond Llewelyn) and Q-Branch appear heavily in the film, the gadgets are over-the-top, a great theme song, the Aston Martin, villains like Oddjob and Goldfinger, and of course tons of “Pussy Galore” are everything that has come be expected from Bond…This is where it all comes together.

Connery plays Bond so cool in all his films, but he really looks comfortable here. It is amazing how Bond actors can make what most would consider jerky behavior acceptable and woo the women (I guess that why something like Austin Powers can make fun of it). With Jill Masterson, her sister Tilly Masterson (Tania Mallet), and Pussy Galore, Bond gets them all and makes it look relatively easy…except Ms Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell) of course.

Who throws a hat?

The villains of the film are also great in Goldfinger. Auric Goldfinger’s classic super-villain plot for robbery and “No Mr. Bond, I expect you to die” slow laser death is something that inspired other future villains. Gert Frobe actually couldn’t speak English and his voice had to be dubbed to get it match. Oddjob and his crazy killer hat is just so absurd and for some reason like everything else, actually works. Pussy Galore (and her Flying Circus) play villains-turned-heroes and have a lot of lesbian undertones to her character (which was more overt in the novel).  James of course cures that.

If you like Bond at all, you must see Goldfinger. It is a classic, and those jaded by movies like Austin Powers might have a hard time taking it seriously. It however is still a fun modern classic that is worth seeking out. Goldfinger is followed by Thunderball (another Bond film that helped establish what Bond became) in 1965.

Preceded By:

From Russia with Love (1963)

Followed By:

Thunderball (1965)