Goldfinger is the third James Bond movie released in 1964. In this adventure, Bond is sent to stop gold magnate Auric Goldfinger from contaminating the US gold supply at Fort Knox.
Plot (contains spoilers)
In the film’s opening sequence which became a tradition for the series from this point, Bond is sent to somewhere in South America to destroy a drugs laboratory and he also kills an assassin sent to kill him.
After the title sequence Bond is in Miami where he is met by Felix Leiter who has instructions from M for him to investigate Auric Goldfinger who has been cheating at a game of gin rummy, with his employee Jill Masterson watching the opposite player from a vantage point on their hotel room balcony. Bond intervenes and blackmails Goldfinger into losing, however after an evening with Jill, Bond is knocked out and she is murdered by being covered in gold paint.
In London, M tasks Bond to find out how Goldfinger is smuggling gold out of the country and sets up a golf match between the pair, which Bond tricks Goldfinger into betting on a gold bar and losing. Bond then tracks Goldfinger to Switzerland where he discovers Goldfinger smuggles the gold by melting it into the bodywork of his car, however he also overhears him discussing “Operation Grand Slam”. Whilst in Switzerland he also meets Tilly Masterson, Jill’s sister who tries to assassinate Goldfinger twice to avenge her sister but trips an alarm and is later killed during their escape from the factory. Bond is also captured and strapped to a table with a laser beam advancing towards him. He lies that MI6 know about Operation Grand Slam and Goldfinger spares his life.
Pussy Galore, Goldfinger’s pilot, flies Bond as captive to his stud farm in Kentucky in a private jet. Whilst there he escapes his cell and learns Goldfinger’s plan is seemingly to rob the United States Bullion Depository at Fort Knox by launching a nerve gas into the atmosphere which will knock everyone out in the vicinity for 24 hours, in a meeting he has with American mafia figures.
However the gangsters ridicule his plan, especially Mr. Solo who wants to be paid immediately and leaves the others who are then fatally gassed. Mr. Solo is killed by Goldfinger’s henchman Oddjob and his body destroyed in a car crusher.
Bond confronts Goldfinger about the plan and the implausibility of moving the gold. Goldfinger agrees it is impossible to do so and Bond deduces that when he overheard Goldfinger talking in Switzerland it was to a Chinese scientist who provided him with an atomic device and Goldfinger’s plan is to irradiate the gold, not to steal it. This will cause Goldfinger’s gold to triple in value and cause economic chaos in the West which the Chinese can also benefit from. However as Goldfinger’s prisoner, will he be able to stop the plan?
Thoughts
If Dr. No set the Bond formula on screen, and From Russia with Love refined it, then Goldfinger was definitely the movie that perfected it and set the template for the Bond series which has largely gone unchanged up until the most recent entry, No Time To Die, 57 years later and is still a movie that later entries are compared against.
Sean Connery has definitely perfected the mannerisms and presence of Bond by this point and every part of the character now seems to come easily to him, whether he is playing verbal games with Auric Goldfinger, flirting with the various Bond girls in this movie, or in dangerous and deadly situations.
Honor Blackman is also fantastic as Pussy Galore and is one of the few Bond girl characters that have both stood the test of time and stood out in the series which has so many other Bond girl characters. She is tough and independent and starts the movie as an anti-hero with Bond seemingly changing her mind during the course of the story. I remember seeing a documentary called Bond Girls Are Forever during the time Casino Royale was released, hosted by Maryam D’Abo and it is discussed how much of a modern woman Pussy is compared to other characters of the time which is probably part of this movies long-lasting appeal.
Gert Frobe is also great as the villain, although it’s arguable the iconography of Oddjob has endured more than he does, with Harold Sakata’s stature but quiet menace, as well as his steel-rimmed bowler hat making him a very memorable henchman that set the template for many others later on in the series, such as Jaws, Nick Nack and others.
The movie does indeed have many iconic moments for Bond fans, including Shirley Eaton painted gold, the car chase in the Swiss Alps, the laser scene where Bond asks Goldfinger if he expects him to talk and he coldly replies “No, Mr. Bond I expect you to die!” which still leave an impression today and again have been used to compare later entries against.
I also find the score is significantly improved here. John Barry already made vast improvements in From Russia With Love but the usage of the music is much better here, whether this is due to him or Guy Hamilton’s direction I would like to find out at some point. Also using an actual song for the title sequence, with Shirley Bassey’s haunting and brassy vocals setting yet another template for the vast majority of other Bond themes to follow.
The movie does have some moments which may be slow for some people compared to big budget movies today but I find these moments don’t feel as long as later entries and the movie is overall very well-paced compared to the first two entries, which can meander a little during the first half.
In conclusion, if you want to see a movie which has set a template for a franchise for over 50 years and become a classic in the Bond series then I would recommend giving this movie a watch.
Do you enjoy Goldfinger? Let me know down below your thoughts on this entry in the series.
