After yesterday's viewing of 'From Russia in Love,' it seemed somewhat masochistic to deny myself the next James Bond adventure, and so tonight saw me watching 'Goldfinger (1964)' for the first time. Though it is often touted as the finest the franchise has to offer, I can't say that I agree with this; as far as this Bond-illiterate guy could deduce, its two predecessors were superior! Nonetheless, Guy Hamilton's adaptation of Ian Fleming's seventh Bond novel, published in 1959, was a phenomenal box-office hit and established the longevity of the series. It has everything that fans have come to expect from James Bond: intelligent, independent female characters (often with improbable and risqué titles); Q's elaborate and inventive gadgetry; an evil and uncompromising villain; a fiendish and daring plot of destruction. Sean Connery returned for his third of six "official" appearances as the legendary MI6 agent, once again up to his old tricks of saving the world, beating the bad-guy and getting the women.
In this adventure, the villain does not arise from the terrorist organisation SPECTRE, but rather is in the game for his own personal wealth. Auric Goldfinger (played by Gert Fröbe; voiced by Michael Collins) is a smuggler of gold bullion, illegally trafficking the bars out of Britain and into Switzerland where he can get a better price. His devilish scheme differs slightly from that in the novel, and it really is an ingenious plan. By detonating a nuclear weapon at the U.S. Bullion Depository at Fort Knox, Kentucky, Goldfinger hopes to contaminate the gold store for the next 58 years, crippling America's economy and causing the value of his own personal stocks to increase tenfold. Goldfinger's memorable henchmen is the silent Oddjob (Harold Sakata), whose strength is such that he can kill a person merely by throwing his hat at them. Both villains, it needn't be said, reach, at the hands of our hero, spectacular ends that certainly do justice to their lively personalities.
Though, overall, I must say that I didn't find 'Goldfinger' quite as engaging as 'Dr. No' or 'From Russia with Love,' it does have several moments that are simply brilliant. Goldfinger's laser demonstration to Bond, who can only watch as the searing beam progresses ever-so-slowly towards his crotch, is a minor masterpiece of nail-biting suspense. The climax at Fort Knox (a remarkable interior set produced exclusively for the film) is absolutely gripping, and the classic cliché of the hero frantically deciding which bomb wire to cut is turned onto his head when Felix Leiter's associate calmly leans over and hits an 'off' switch with 007 seconds remaining. Curiously, many of the Bond women in 'Goldfinger' appear quite expendable: one (Shirley Eaton) is memorably covered entirely in gold paint and left to suffocate, another (Tania Mallet) is killed by Oddjob's deadly head-wear, and another, in the film's pre-credit sequence, betrays Bond and is forcibly spun around to be clunked on the head by her own ally. Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman) is probably the series' most independent Bond girl to date, always in control of the situation and her own actions until, that is, the charms of our hero firmly make their mark.
In this adventure, the villain does not arise from the terrorist organisation SPECTRE, but rather is in the game for his own personal wealth. Auric Goldfinger (played by Gert Fröbe; voiced by Michael Collins) is a smuggler of gold bullion, illegally trafficking the bars out of Britain and into Switzerland where he can get a better price. His devilish scheme differs slightly from that in the novel, and it really is an ingenious plan. By detonating a nuclear weapon at the U.S. Bullion Depository at Fort Knox, Kentucky, Goldfinger hopes to contaminate the gold store for the next 58 years, crippling America's economy and causing the value of his own personal stocks to increase tenfold. Goldfinger's memorable henchmen is the silent Oddjob (Harold Sakata), whose strength is such that he can kill a person merely by throwing his hat at them. Both villains, it needn't be said, reach, at the hands of our hero, spectacular ends that certainly do justice to their lively personalities.
Though, overall, I must say that I didn't find 'Goldfinger' quite as engaging as 'Dr. No' or 'From Russia with Love,' it does have several moments that are simply brilliant. Goldfinger's laser demonstration to Bond, who can only watch as the searing beam progresses ever-so-slowly towards his crotch, is a minor masterpiece of nail-biting suspense. The climax at Fort Knox (a remarkable interior set produced exclusively for the film) is absolutely gripping, and the classic cliché of the hero frantically deciding which bomb wire to cut is turned onto his head when Felix Leiter's associate calmly leans over and hits an 'off' switch with 007 seconds remaining. Curiously, many of the Bond women in 'Goldfinger' appear quite expendable: one (Shirley Eaton) is memorably covered entirely in gold paint and left to suffocate, another (Tania Mallet) is killed by Oddjob's deadly head-wear, and another, in the film's pre-credit sequence, betrays Bond and is forcibly spun around to be clunked on the head by her own ally. Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman) is probably the series' most independent Bond girl to date, always in control of the situation and her own actions until, that is, the charms of our hero firmly make their mark.