007 Contra Goldfinger

Forty years after it's initial release, the third 'James Bond' film, GOLDFINGER, remains the quintessential 007 film for many fans, with a level of hysteria upon it's initial release that younger fans may not fully appreciate. It set records at that time as the fastest-grossing film in history (making back it's $3,000,000 production cost in a mere 2 weeks, on only 67 screens), spawned the first massive 007 merchandising 'blitz' (with everything from jigsaw puzzles, dolls, and lunchboxes, to shoes and cologne, and even Aston Martin DB5 automobiles offered as 'collectibles'), launched a whole new genre of 'spy thrillers' to TV and film (with the debut of the Ian Fleming-approved TV series, "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." in America, and the increased popularity "Danger Man" and "The Avengers" would enjoy in Britain), and gave the franchise it's first worldwide #1 hit song, sung by Shirley Bassey. Everyone was crazy about 007, with a resulting pandemonium that rivaled the adoration of the Beatles in it's intensity!

The story, pitting the British secret agent against a megalomaniac whose master plan was to explode a 'dirty' nuclear device at Fort Knox, thus poisoning the American gold supply, and making his own gold reserves infinitely more valuable, would benefit from 'perfect' casting. German actor Gert Frobe (his voice dubbed, as he barely spoke English), was an ideal Goldfinger, a rotund, piggish monster who always 'cheated' to win, at cards, golf, or dealing with adversaries. His 'right-hand man', Oddjob, played by Hawaiian wrestler Harold Sakata, became the prototype of every subsequent villainous henchman; silent, nearly invulnerable, with an evil grin and a steel-edged bowler hat he would toss that could cut the head off a marble statue.

Bond's women were never sexier; Shirley Eaton, 27, created a sensation in a 5-minute appearance as 'Jill Masterson', who betrays Goldfinger for a tryst with 007, and ends up a nude corpse covered in gold paint; and 27-year old "Avengers" alumni Honor Blackman, as the lesbian pilot 'Pussy Galore' (yes, the name DID cause problems with American censors), who discovers the joys of male lovers after Bond pins her in a fight. Sean Connery, at 34, was simply irresistible in his third outing as 007!

Director Guy Hamilton, making his first Bond movie, said that the character of 007 only needed a 'push' to become a Superman, and he provided it, by increasing the humor and ever-present gadgets, most memorably the prototype Aston Martin DB5, complete with armor plating, machine-gun turrets, rotating license plates, and an ejector seat.

Unforgettable moments abound, from the "shocking" pre-title sequence, to the golf match between Goldfinger and Bond (introducing Connery to the sport that would become his lifelong passion), to the famous laser torture scene ("Do you expect me to talk?" "No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to DIE!"), to the climactic fight between Bond and Oddjob (during which Connery was actually injured, and Sakata burned his hand, badly).

007 author Ian Fleming passed away during production, after a last visit to the Pinewood set (although the story takes place in Florida, Switzerland, and Kentucky, nearly all of the film was shot in England). He was very pleased at the success his creation had achieved, thus far, thought Connery made an ideal Bond, and was confident in the future of the series, in the hands of producers Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman.

And speaking of the future...A few months later, in Ireland, twelve-year old Pierce Brosnan would view GOLDFINGER (the first Bond film he'd ever seen), and decide to become an actor, fantasizing about playing the spy, someday...

Almost sublime - this James Bond film had it all, from adventure to romance to thrills. It starts with a shocking electrocution and then into the classic saucy gold credits before the scene is set with Goldfinger himself.

Bond, played by dashing Sean Connery for the third time, has to find out what unpleasant gold-smuggling chap named Auric Goldfinger is up to and put a stop to it. He tracks him down first to Geneva then Kentucky in a sparkling sequence of adventures, occasionally involving bumping into Goldfinger's memorable Korean hatchet-man Oddjob with the odd hat. Favourite bits from so many: short-lived girlfriend Shirley Eaton going for gold; polished Bond being dismissive of the brandy at the Bank Of England much to M's pleb puzzlement; the debut of the special Aston Martin and Q's workshop; the narky golf match between Bond and Goldfinger; Bond's close but rather unnecessary laser shave at Goldfinger's HQ; his various encounters with feisty Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman); the gangster with the pressing engagement; and Shirley Bassey's title song was by miles the best Bond song ever.

The whole film is still a joy, maybe improbable and even ludicrous at times yet I watched it rapt all these years later. It portrays back to us a simpler world though we didn't know it at the time, a world I can sometimes relate to better than the beautiful perfect world we have now. You don't need cgi cartoonery, strong sex, extreme violence, so-called realism – or even a sensible story – if you've got the right mix of escapism and personality put together by people who enjoy what they're doing instead of only being in the middle of a franchise.

Hands down, Goldfinger is the most iconic bond movie of all time. It is the standard by which later Bond films will be judged and it set the bar massively high for the bonds to come. Every, EVERY, E-V-E-R-Y Scene is memorable, unique and legendary in it's own right. The dozen one liners and facials are excellent, all the characters are excellent and all performances are amazing. The story and the plot isn't as deep as we get in movies like Skyfall (2012) or From Russia With Love (1963) but I doubt that this is a flaw. Oddjobb is iconic, Goldfinger is iconic, Pussy Galore is iconic and Sean Connery is at his best! Tied with 2006's Casino Royale as the best Bond Movie of all time.

Goldfinger was the third Bond film and, on its release in 1964, proved itself to be the first blockbuster of the series, firmly establishing OO7 in the public imagination. Dr No and From Russia with Love had both been successful, but Goldfinger outperformed both at the Box Office, and in the process laid down the guidelines for nearly every Bond film that has followed since.

There is undoubtedly much to admire about the film, not least the memorable Shirley Bassey theme song, still one of the best. Guy Hamilton directs with impressive assurance, the locations are excellent and Sean Connery is once again the epitome of cool as Bond, although he is not as menacing as he was in the first two films. He is, however, still a believable character and finds himself in genuine danger during the film, having to rely on his wits to survive. Goldfinger is one of the great Bond villains, played with real bonhomie by Gert Frobe, who succeeds in making him a more fleshed-out character than many of the one-dimensional baddies of later films. The wonderfully-named Pussy Galore, meanwhile, is one of the best Bond girls. Honor Blackman plays her as a woman with real spirit and intelligence, and it is a pity she does not get more screen time.

Goldfinger also introduced several elements which have since become cliches of the Bond series. For the first time Bond visits Q's workshop to pick up his equipment, and for the first time he receives some fancy gadgets, packaged up in the famous and stylish Aston Martin. The film is also injected with a lot more humour than its predecessors, with OO7 throwing out one-liners more frequently and a somewhat camper tone being introduced to proceedings. As Oddjob, Howard Sakata is the first in a long line of totally silent but lethal henchmen. He is not as good as Red Grant in From Russia with Love (who spoke), but his deadly hat is memorable, and he is a formidable opponent for Bond.

Good as it is, however, it could be argued that Goldfinger had a malign influence on many of its successors. Because it was so successful, the Bond producers became convinced that later OO7 releases should follow the same gadget-led, tongue-in-cheek style, but on a grander scale. As a result, Goldfinger began the shift away from the relatively serious, hard-edged tone of the first two films towards the light-hearted visual spectaculars that would come to dominate the franchise in the 1970s. Taken on its own terms, though, Goldfinger certainly ranks as one of the best Bond films, and is much better than the later ones which tried hardest to mimic and outdo it. Personally I like the tougher films in the franchise the best, especially From Russia with Love, but Goldfinger is the most enjoyable Bond film of its kind, and deserves its classic status.

Every individual James Bond film has some good assets and at least two or three special qualities that make it fantastically entertaining. "Goldfinger", however, exclusively has great assets and special qualities! I think this third entry in the series is almost unanimously – and righteously – labeled as THE best Bond movie of all. It's definitely also the most quintessential title to watch in order to get fully acquainted with the lead character's personality and working methods, as well as with the type of assignments he receives from his employer, his opponents and the hi- tech attributes he gets to help him. You'd expect all this to become clear already in the first film, "Dr. No", but the character created by Ian Fleming was still fairly unknown back then and hence the production values were a lot lower. Barely two years and only one sequel later, James Bond had already become a phenomenon and "Goldfinger" delivered the incredibly high expectations of the fans. It truly also is a terrific film, with an utmost solid script, a top three legendary villain and various highly memorable action & suspense sequences. Personally, I have the bizarre habit of ranking my favorite Bond movies based on the evil- factor and charisma of the villains, and thus "Goldfinger" is quite high up there thanks to the sublime roles of Gert Fröbe as the titular character and Harold Sakata as Oddjob, his silent but deadly henchman who pulverizes golf balls with his bare hands and throws around his killer-hat of steel. The gold-obsessed magnate has thought up an ingenious plan to rob the entire American gold supply from Fort Knox and naturally it's 007's job to prevent this from happening. Therefore Bond infiltrates into Goldfinger's private affairs twice; messing up his game cheating routines and seducing his female accomplices. Auric Goldfinger is undoubtedly one of the most vicious Bond-villains, but arguably also one of the dumbest! Never before or after did 007's opponents receive so many open and easy chances to eliminate him, but Goldfinger decides not to take the risk and kill his disloyal female assistants instead! Many, many sequences in this third Bond film are pure vintage, including the white tuxedo underneath the diving suit, Shirley Eaton's golden corpse, an uncomfortable laser beam moment and – of course – every scene with that awesome Aston Martin!