Auric Goldfinger:
Man has climbed Mount Everest,
gone to the bottom of the ocean.
He's fired rockets at the Moon, split the atom,
achieved miracles in every field of human endeavor...
...except crime!
Goldfinger is the third film in the Bond series, directed by Guy Hamilton, and released in 1964, a time when Sean Connery was still the only Bond. This is _the_ classic James Bond film, to many fans the definitive Bond, as it had cool villains, a suspenseful plot and introduced many of the features that would recur in all later films.
Teaser:
This time, the pre-credit teaser is an entire Bond adventure on its own, withno direct relevance to the plot of the mainfilm. Bond swims to an
oil refinery with a fake seagull on his head. After planting explosives in a
drug lab hidden in one of the holding tanks, he strips off his wet suit to reveal a
tuxedo, then makes his way to a
nightclub just as the explosions start. He confers with an associate, then leaves to visit a
Flamenco dancer who was performing in the club. While
kissing her, an assailant behind him is reflected in her eyes. He and the man scuffle and Bond throws him into a bathtub. When the man goes for a gun, Bond tosses an electric appliance into the tub electrocuting the man. Bond walks away muttering,
Shocking. Positively shocking.
Plot:
When Bond first meets Goldfinger, he discovers him cheating a playing cards, humiliates him by forcing him to lose on purpose and the proceeds to steal his girlfriend, whom Goldfinger kills by covering her in gold in revenge. Excellent start for a good and lasting relationship.
And they meet again soon after, because Goldfinger is suspected of gold smuggling. In a game of golf, Bond wins, but only by cheating. Goldfinger, not used to losing, departs, even more in anger. Bond follows him to Switzerland using the homing device which Bond placed on the car. This scene also includes the granny with the machine gun, which cracks me up every time is see it.
After a car chase, including for the first time Bond's modified Aston DB5, Bond is caught and set to be killed by a laser, but Bond gains a respite by throwing a few random words he heard in the open. After escaping Bond finally witnesses Goldfinger's exposition of his plan to nuke Fort Knox, rendering the gold in there worthless to increase the value of his own cache. Bond is quickly captured again, but escapes once more by seducing Pussy Galore, Goldfingers "Henchwoman" (for the lack of a better term), manages to turn her against Goldfinger, and proceeds to tricking Goldfinger into believing his plan can still work.
Goldfinger proceeds to take over Fort Knox, but is trapped and attacked. But the bomb is already in place, with Bond handcuffed to the nuclear weapon and with Oddjob for company. So prepare for an electrifying showdown.
Goldfinger proves to have an excellent sense of situations, for when the tide turns against his forces, he proceeds to switch uniforms and escapes, only to kidnap Bond on his flight home. After a final showdown, he is sucked out of the window of the plane.
Pussy Galore: What happened? Where's Goldfinger?
Bond: Playing his golden harp.
Villains:
Auric Goldfinger, played by the german Gerd Froebe, is a millionaire industrialist, founder of Goldfinger Industries and supposed to be one of the richest men in England. He escaped from the East Bloc across the Berlin Wall and soon opened a small jewelry store in London (he was a jeweller in Riga like his father and grandfather). Goldfinger expanded his empire to include factories, biological institutes, horse breeding farms and research facilities. He has the largest private gold reserve in the world, though rumors of smuggling have somewhat tarnished that record.
Odd Job, played by Harold Sakata, is Goldfinger's personal bodyguard. Although of low intelligence and possibly mute (he does not say a word, even when electrocuted), he more than makes up for these deficits by his toughness, ability in hand-to-hand combat and skill in throwing his deadly derby hat.
Trivia:
Bond Girls: This movie has three, namely Shirley Eaton as the gold gilded Jill Masterson, Tania Mallet as Tilly Masterson, out to avenge her sister, nearly killing Bond in the process, only to be killed by a good throw from OddJob, and finally Honor Blackman as Pussy Galore, the pilot-"henchman" of Goldfinger's who remained lesbian and loyal only until she met Bond.
Pussy Galore: My name is Pussy Galore.
Bond: I must be dreaming.
Q's Toys: In this movie, we finally see the Aston Martin DB5 with machine guns, oil dispenser, smoke, bullet-proof shields, ejector seat, saw-blade from wheel-hubs and homer terminal complete with homers. There also is a machine gun in a dummy van, a parking meter that releases a smoke screen, a bullet-proof vest, a timing device with plastic explosive and the fabled seagull on top of a snorkel. Ah, never to grow up...
Q: ... reception on the dashboard, here. Audio-visual range a hundred and fifty miles.
Bond: Ingenious, and useful too. Allow a man to stop off for a quick one en route.
Q: It has not been perfected, out of years of patient research, ENTIRELY for that purpose, 007.
And incidentally, we'd appreciate its return, along with all your other equipment, INTACT
for once, when you return from the field.
Bond: Well, you'd be surprised the amount of wear and tear that goes on out there in the field.
There is also a myth that Gerd Froebe's original voice was actually dubbed in the English version because he sounded not German enough for the part. This of course angered Froebe, who had been practicing a more accentless English than that used by the other German actors of the time ("Ziz iz yua lahst woaninck!"), and he went on to dub his part in the German dubbed version himself. Thus, in the original version, we only got to enjoy Froebe's acting, while in the dub we also get to hear his voice.
Still, I liked the English sound of his unforgettable retort to Bonds:
Do you expect me to talk?:
No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!"
(A scene also masterfully parodied in the Scorpio episode of The Simpsons)
Previous Bond: From Russia with Love, James Bond will return in: Thunderball