Fanmade Films 4 Wiki
in: Films, 1960s films, 1964 films, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films

Goldfinger

Sign in to edit
Goldfinger 1964 poster 6

Goldfinger is a 1964 spy film and the third film in the James Bond series produced by Eon Productions, starring Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It is based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. The film also stars Honor Blackman as Bond girl Pussy Galore and Gert Fröbe as the title character Auric Goldfinger, along with Shirley Eaton as the iconic Bond girl Jill Masterson. Goldfinger was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman and was the first of four Bond films directed by Guy Hamilton.

In 1999, it was ranked No. 70 on the BFI Top 100 British films list compiled by the British Film Institute.

Storyline[]

Plot[]

The powerful tycoon Auric Goldfinger has initiated Operation Grand Slam, a cataclysmic scheme to raid Fort Knox and obliterate the world economy. James Bond, armed with his specially equipped Aston Martin, must stop the plan by overcoming several outrageous adversaries.

Genres[]

  • Action
  • Spy
  • Adventure
  • Thriller
  • Mystery

Motion Picture Rating[]

  • 13 (Argentina)
  • M (Australia) (1995, re-rating)
  • PG (Australia) (1985, re-rating)
  • 14 (Brazil)
  • 12 (Brazil) (TV rating)
  • PG (Canada) (Manitoba/Ontario)
  • 14 (Canada) (Nova Scotia)
  • 13+ (original rating, Quebec)
  • PG (Canada)
  • 15 (Denmark) (DVD and Blu-ray rating)
  • K-16 (Finland)
  • Tous publics (France)
  • 16 (Germany)
  • 12 (Iceland)
  • UA (India) (re-rating)
  • A (India) (1966, original rating)
  • PG (Ireland)
  • T (Italy) (DVD rating)
  • G (Japan) (2015)
  • U (Malaysia)
  • A (Mexico)
  • PG (Mexico) (DVD rating)
  • 12 (Netherlands) (video rating)
  • M (New Zealand)
  • 15 (Norway) (DVD and Blu-ray rating)
  • 9 (Norway) (recommended rating)
  • 16 (Norway) (1986, cinema rating)
  • 16 (Norway) (1964, cinema rating)
  • 14 (Peru)
  • 7 (Poland) (self-applied)
  • M/12 (Portugal)
  • PG (Saudi Arabia)
  • 12 (Serbia)
  • PG (Singapore)
  • 15 (South Korea)
  • 18 (Spain)
  • 15 (Sweden)
  • 7A (Turkey) (self-applied)
  • PG (UK)
  • A (UK) (original rating, passed with cuts)
  • 12 (UK) (recommended rating)
  • PG (UK) (TV rating)
  • PG (UK) (2009, video rating: additional material director's audio commentary)
  • PG (UK) (2000, video rating)
  • Approved (USA)
  • PG (USA) (1994)
  • 16 (West Germany) (nf)

Images[]

Cast and Crew[]

Director[]

  • Guy Hamilton

Writing Credits[]

  • Richard Maibaum (screenplay by) and
  • Paul Dehn (screenplay by)

Cast[]

  • Sean Connery - James Bond
  • Gert Fröbe - Auric Goldfinger (as Gert Frobe)
  • Honor Blackman - Pussy Galore
  • Shirley Eaton - Jill Masterson
  • Tania Mallet - Tilly Masterson
  • Harold Sakata - Oddjob (as Harold Sakata {Tosh Togo})
  • Bernard Lee - 'M'
  • Martin Benson - Solo
  • Cec Linder - Felix Leiter
  • Austin Willis - Simmons
  • Lois Maxwell - Moneypenny
  • Bill Nagy - Midnight
  • Michael Mellinger - Kisch
  • Peter Cranwell - Johnny
  • Nadja Regin - Bonita
  • Richard Vernon - Colonel Smithers
  • Burt Kwouk - Mr. Ling
  • Desmond Llewelyn - 'Q'
  • Mai Ling - Mei-Lei
  • Varley Thomas - Swiss Gatekeeper
  • Margaret Nolan - Dink
  • John McLaren - Brigadier
  • Robert MacLeod - Atomic Specialist (as Robert Macleod)
  • Victor Brooks - Blacking
  • Alf Joint - Capungo
  • Gerry Duggan - Hawker

Other Cast (in alphabetical order)[]

  • Paul Beradi - Bodega Patron / Golfer (uncredited)
  • Paul Berardi - Bodega Patron / Golfer (uncredited)
  • Gloria Best - Miami Pool Girl (uncredited)
  • Peter Brace - Refinery Guard (uncredited)
  • Roland Brand - Gangster (uncredited)
  • Bill Brandon - Gangster (uncredited)
  • Terence Brook - Security Officer at Airport (uncredited)
  • Paul Carpenter - Brigadier at Airport (uncredited)
  • Norman Chancer - Gangster (uncredited)
  • Cecil Cheng - Goldfinger's Henchman (uncredited)
  • Dennis Chin - Korean in Car (uncredited)
  • Anthony Chinn - Servant at Stud Farm (uncredited)
  • Marian Collins - Girlfriend of Goldfinger (uncredited)
  • Michael Collins - Auric Goldfinger (voice) (uncredited)
  • June Cooper - Miami Pool Girl (uncredited)
  • Denis Cowles - Brunskill (uncredited)
  • Alexandra Dane - Flying Circus Pilot (uncredited)
  • Carmen Dene - Purple Bikini Girl Near Pool (uncredited)
  • Reg Dent - Driver (uncredited)
  • Mick Dillon - Jockey (uncredited)
  • Dominique Don - Miami Pool Girl (uncredited)
  • Bill Edwards - Gangster (uncredited)
  • Hal Galili - Mr. Strap (uncredited)
  • Caron Gardner - Flying Circus Pilot (uncredited)
  • Linda Gidley - Flying Circus Pilot (uncredited)
  • Patrick Halpin - Hotel Guest (uncredited)
  • Laurence Herder - Gangster (uncredited)
  • William Hurndell - Gangster (uncredited)
  • Lesley Langley - Flying Circus Pilot (uncredited)
  • Arnold Lee - Goldfinger's Henchman (uncredited)
  • George Leech - Man in Bulletproof Vest at 'Q' Division (uncredited)
  • Mae Ling - Mae Lei (uncredited)
  • Jane Lumb - Miami Pool Girl (uncredited)
  • John Maxim - Gangster (uncredited)
  • Pierce McAvoy - Air Traffic Controller (uncredited)
  • John McCarthy - Gangster (uncredited)
  • John McLaughlin - Miami Hotel Guest (uncredited)
  • Lou Morgan - Bound & Gagged Air Crew Member (uncredited)
  • Aleta Morrison - Flying Circus Squadron Leader (uncredited)
  • Tricia Muller - Sydney (uncredited)
  • Jane Murdoch - Flying Circus Pilot (uncredited)
  • Lionel Murton - Colonel (uncredited)
  • Harry Phipps - Bodega Patron (uncredited)
  • John Preston - Golfer (uncredited)
  • Lenny Rabin - American Gangster (uncredited)
  • Tommy Reeves - Jockey (uncredited)
  • Janette Rowsell - Fountainbleu Hotel Chambermaid (uncredited)
  • Arthur Sandifer - 'Q' Division Technician (uncredited)
  • Otto Schmidt - High Diver (uncredited)
  • Johnny Scripps - Jockey (uncredited)
  • Bob Simmons - James Bond in Gunbarrel Sequence (uncredited)
  • Joseph Tregonino - Bodega Patron (uncredited)
  • Les Tremayne - Radio Newsman (voice) (uncredited)
  • Nikki Van der Zyl - Jill Masterson (voice) (uncredited)
  • Dave Wilding - Jockey (uncredited)
  • Michael G. Wilson - Soldier at Fort Knox (uncredited)
  • Vincent Wong - Goldfinger's Henchman (uncredited)
  • Maggie Wright - Flying Circus Pilot (uncredited)
  • Raymond Young - Sierra (uncredited)

Producers[]

  • Albert R. Broccoli (produced by)
  • Harry Saltzman (produced by)

Details[]

Countries[]

  • UK
  • USA

Language[]

  • English
  • Italian

Release Dates[]

  • September 17, 1964 (UK) (London) (premiere)
  • September 20, 1964 (UK)
  • September 25, 1964 (Ireland)
  • October 4, 1964 (UK)
  • December 21, 1964 (USA) (New York City, New York)
  • December 25, 1964 (USA) (Hollywood, California)
  • December 26, 1964 (Denmark)
  • December 26, 1964 (Norway)
  • 1965 (Israel)
  • January 1, 1965 (Italy)
  • January 9, 1965 (USA)
  • January 14, 1965 (West Germany)
  • January 28, 1965 (Argentina)
  • January 28, 1965 (Brazil)
  • January 29, 1965 (Finland)
  • February 5, 1965 (Sweden)
  • February 19, 1965 (France) (Paris) (premiere)
  • February 28, 1965 (Greece)
  • March 11, 1965 (Belgium) (Brussels)
  • March 11, 1965 (Hong Kong)
  • April 1, 1965 (Japan)
  • April 15, 1965 (Netherlands)
  • April 26, 1965 (Spain) (Madrid)
  • May 6, 1965 (Portugal)
  • June 4, 1965 (Belgium) (Gent)
  • July 20, 1965 (Colombia)
  • February 6, 1966 (UK) (London) (re-release)
  • May 2, 1966 (Uruguay)
  • May 26, 1966 (Mexico)
  • September 6, 1966 (India)
  • February 12, 1967 (Turkey)
  • 1970 (Iceland)
  • October 28, 1971 (Argentina) (re-release)
  • June 14, 1973 (Netherlands) (re-release)
  • July 21, 1975 (Spain) (re-release)
  • July 28, 1978 (Finland) (re-release)
  • November 13, 1986 (Norway) (re-release)
  • October 24, 1994 (USA) (Beverly Hills, California)
  • September 23, 1999 (Canada) (Cinefest Sudbury International Film Festival)
  • December 25, 2001 (Russia) (DVD premiere)
  • July 17, 2006 (United Arab Emirates) (DVD premiere)
  • November 6, 2006 (Czechia) (DVD premiere)
  • February 6, 2007 (Singapore) (DVD premiere)
  • July 31, 2007 (UK) (re-release)
  • August 22, 2009 (Philippines) (DVD premiere)
  • February 10, 2010 (Canada) (Digital Film Festival)
  • November 12, 2012 (Australia) (Blu-ray release)
  • June 14, 2015 (UK) (re-release)
  • September 14, 2015 (Indonesia) (Blu-ray premiere)
  • December 7, 2020 (Poland) (DVD premiere)
  • March 5, 2021 (Thailand) (limited) (Bangkok Screening Room)

Also Known As[]

  • Goldfinger (original title)
  • Dedos de oro (Argentina)
  • Goldfinger (Australia)
  • Agente 007 - Missione Goldfinger (Italy)
  • Ian Fleming's Goldfinger (UK) (complete title)
  • Goldfinger (UK)

Production[]

Development[]

While From Russia With Love was in production, Richard Maibaum began working on the script for On Her Majesty's Secret Service as the intended next film in the series, but with the release date set for September 1964 there was not enough time to prepare for location shooting in Switzerland and that adaptation was put on hold. With the court case between Kevin McClory and Fleming surrounding Thunderball still in the High Court, producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman turned to Goldfinger as the third Bond film. Goldfinger had what was then considered a large budget of $3 million (US$26 million in 2021 dollars), the equivalent of the budgets of Dr. No and From Russia with Love combined, and was the first Bond film classified as a box-office blockbuster. Goldfinger was chosen with the North American cinema market in mind, as the previous films had concentrated on the Caribbean and Europe.

Terence Young, who directed the previous two films, chose to film The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders instead, after a pay dispute that saw him denied a percentage of the film's profits. Broccoli and Saltzman turned instead to Guy Hamilton to direct. Hamilton, who had turned down directing Dr. No, felt that he needed to make Bond less of a "superman" by making the villains seem more powerful. Hamilton knew Fleming, as both were involved during intelligence matters in the Royal Navy during World War II. Goldfinger saw the return of two crew members who were not involved with From Russia with Love: stunt coordinator Bob Simmons and production designer Ken Adam. Both played crucial roles in the development of Goldfinger, with Simmons choreographing the fight sequence between Bond and Oddjob in the vault of Fort Knox, which was not just seen as one of the best Bond fights, but also "must stand as one of the great cinematic combats" whilst Adam's efforts on Goldfinger were "luxuriantly baroque" and have resulted in the film being called "one of his finest pieces of work".

Filming[]

Principal photography commenced on 20 January 1964 in Miami Beach, Florida, at the Fontainebleau Hotel; the crew was small, consisting only of Hamilton, Broccoli, Adam and cinematographer Ted Moore. Connery never travelled to Florida to film because he was shooting Marnie elsewhere in the United States. On the DVD audio commentary, director Hamilton states that other than Linder, who played Felix Leiter, none of the main actors in the Miami sequence were actually there. Connery, Fröbe, Eaton, Nolan, who played Dink, and Willis, who played Goldfinger's card victim, all filmed their parts on a soundstage at Pinewood Studios when filming moved. Miami also served as location to the scenes involving Leiter's pursuit of Oddjob.

After five days in the US, production returned to England. The primary location was Pinewood Studios, home to, among other sets, a recreation of the Fontainebleau, the South American city of the pre-title sequence and both Goldfinger's estate and factory. Three places near the studio were used: Black Park for the car chase involving Bond's Aston Martin and Goldfinger's henchmen inside the factory complex, RAF Northolt for the American airports and Stoke Park Club for the golf club scene.

The end of the chase, when Bond's Aston Martin crashes into a wall because of the mirror, as well as the chase immediately preceding it, were filmed on the road at the rear of Pinewood Studios Sound Stages A and E and the Prop Store. The road is now called Goldfinger Avenue. Southend Airport was used for the scene where Goldfinger flies to Switzerland. Ian Fleming visited the set of Goldfinger in April 1964; he died a few months later in August 1964, shortly before the film's release. The second unit filmed in Kentucky, and these shots were edited into scenes filmed at Pinewood.

Principal photography then moved to Switzerland, with the car chase being filmed at the small curved roads near Realp, the exterior of the Pilatus Aircraft factory in Stans serving as Goldfinger's factory, and Tilly Masterson's attempt to snipe Goldfinger being shot in the Furka Pass. Filming wrapped on 11 July at Andermatt, after nineteen weeks of shooting. Just three weeks prior to the film's release, Hamilton and a small team, which included Broccoli's stepson and future producer Michael G. Wilson as assistant director, went for last-minute shoots in Kentucky. Extra people were hired for post-production issues such as dubbing so the film could be finished in time.

Broccoli earned permission to film in the Fort Knox area with the help of his friend, Lt. Colonel Charles Russhon. To shoot Pussy Galore's Flying Circus gassing the soldiers, the pilots were only allowed to fly above 3,000 feet. Hamilton recalled this was "hopeless", so they flew at about 500 feet, and "the military went absolutely ape". The scenes of people fainting involved the same set of soldiers moving to different locations.

For security reasons, filming and photography were not allowed near or inside the United States Bullion Depository. All sets for the interiors of the building were designed and built from scratch at Pinewood Studios. The filmmakers had no clue as to what the interior of the depository looked like, so Ken Adam's imagination provided the idea of gold stacked upon gold behind iron bars.

Adam later told UK daily newspaper The Guardian: "No one was allowed in Fort Knox but because [producer] Cubby Broccoli had some good connections and the Kennedys loved Ian Fleming's books I was allowed to fly over it once. It was quite frightening – they had machine guns on the roof. I was also allowed to drive around the perimeter but if you got out of the car there was a loudspeaker warning you to keep away. There was not a chance of going in it, and I was delighted because I knew from going to the Bank of England vaults that gold isn't stacked very high and it's all underwhelming. It gave me the chance to show the biggest gold repository in the world as I imagined it, with gold going up to heaven. I came up with this cathedral-type design. I had a big job to persuade Cubby and the director Guy Hamilton at first."

Saltzman disliked the design's resemblance to a prison, but Hamilton liked it enough that it was built. The comptroller of Fort Knox later sent a letter to Adam and the production team, complimenting them on their imaginative depiction of the vault. United Artists even had irate letters from people wondering "how could a British film unit be allowed inside Fort Knox?" Adam recalled, "In the end I was pleased that I wasn't allowed into Fort Knox, because it allowed me to do whatever I wanted." In fact, the set was deemed so realistic that Pinewood Studios had to post a 24-hour guard to keep the gold bar props from being stolen. Another element which was original was the atomic device, for which Hamilton requested the special effects crew get inventive instead of realistic. Technician Bert Luxford described the end result as looking like an "engineering work", with a spinning engine, a chronometer and other decorative pieces.

Opening sequence[]

The opening credit sequence was designed by graphic artist Robert Brownjohn, featuring clips of all James Bond films thus far projected on Margaret Nolan's body. Its design was inspired by seeing light projecting on people's bodies as they got up and left a cinema.

Visually, the film uses many golden motifs, reflecting the novel's treatment of Goldfinger's obsession with the metal. All of Goldfinger's female henchwomen in the film except his private jet's co-pilot (black hair) and stewardess (who is Korean) are red-blonde, or blonde, including Pussy Galore and her Flying Circus crew (both the characters Tilly Masterson and Pussy specifically have black hair in the novel). Goldfinger has a yellow-painted Rolls-Royce with number plate "AU 1" (Au being the chemical symbol for gold), and also sports yellow or golden items or clothing in every film scene, including a golden pistol, when disguised as a colonel. Jill Masterson is famously killed by being painted with gold, which according to Bond causes her to die of "skin suffocation". (An entirely fictional cause of death, but the iconic scene caused much of the public to accept it as a medical fact. An urban legend circulated that the scene was inspired by a Swiss model who accidentally died the same way, while preparing for a photo shoot.) Bond is bound to a cutting bench with a sheet of gold on it (as Goldfinger points out to him) before nearly being lasered. Goldfinger's factory henchmen in the film wear yellow sashes, Pussy Galore twice wears a metallic gold vest, and Pussy's pilots all wear yellow sunburst insignia on their uniforms. Goldfinger's Jetstar hostess, Mei-Lei, wears a golden bodice and gold-accented sarong. The concept of the recurring gold theme running through the film was a design aspect conceived and executed by Ken Adam and art director Peter Murton.

Release and reception[]

Goldfinger premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on 17 September 1964, with general release in the United Kingdom the following day. Leicester Square was packed with sightseers and fans and police were unable to control the crowd. A set of glass doors to the cinema was accidentally broken and the premiere was shown ten minutes late because of the confusion. The United States premiere occurred on 21 December 1964, at the DeMille Theatre in New York. The film opened in 64 cinemas across 41 cities and eventually peaked at 485 screens. Goldfinger was temporarily banned in Israel because of Gert Fröbe's connections with the Nazi Party. The ban, however, was lifted many years later when a Jewish family publicly thanked Fröbe for protecting them from persecution during World War II.

Promotion[]

The film's marketing campaign began as soon as filming started in Florida, with Eon allowing photographers to enter the set to take pictures of Shirley Eaton painted in gold. Robert Brownjohn, who designed the opening credits, was responsible for the posters for the advertising campaign, which also used actress Margaret Nolan. To promote the film, the two Aston Martin DB5s were showcased at the 1964 New York World's Fair and it was dubbed "the most famous car in the world"; consequently, sales of the car rose. Corgi Toys began its decades-long relationship with the Bond franchise, producing a toy of the car, which became the biggest selling toy of 1964. The film's success also led to licensed tie-in clothing, dress shoes, action figures, board games, jigsaw puzzles, lunch boxes, toys, record albums, trading cards and slot cars.

Critical response[]

Derek Prouse of The Sunday Times said of Goldfinger that it was "superbly engineered. It is fast, it is most entertainingly preposterous and it is exciting."

The reviewer from The Times said "All the devices are infinitely sophisticated, and so is the film: the tradition of self-mockery continues, though at times it over-reaches itself", also saying that "It is the mixture as before, only more so: it is superb hokum." Connery's acting efforts were overlooked by this reviewer, who did say: "There is some excellent bit-part playing by Mr. Bernard Lee and Mr. Harold Sakata: Mr. Gert Fröbe is astonishingly well cast in the difficult part of Goldfinger." Donald Zec, writing for the Daily Mirror, said of the film that "Ken Adam's set designs are brilliant; the direction of Guy Hamilton tautly exciting; Connery is better than ever, and the titles superimposed on the gleaming body of the girl in gold are inspired."

Penelope Gilliatt, writing in The Observer, said that the film had "a spoofing callousness" and that it was "absurd, funny and vile". The Guardian said that Goldfinger was "two hours of unmissable fantasy", also saying that the film was "the most exciting, the most extravagant of the Bond films: garbage from the gods", adding that Connery was "better than ever as Bond". Alan Dent, writing for The Illustrated London News, thought Goldfinger "even tenser, louder, wittier, more ingenious and more impossible than 'From Russia with Love'... [a] brilliant farrago", adding that Connery "is ineffable".

Philip Oakes of The Sunday Telegraph said that the film was "dazzling in its technical ingenuity", while Time said that "this picture is a thriller exuberantly travestied." Bosley Crowther, writing in The New York Times was less enthusiastic about the film, saying that it was "tediously apparent" that Bond was becoming increasingly reliant on gadgets with less emphasis on "the lush temptations of voluptuous females", although he did admit that "Connery plays the hero with an insultingly cool, commanding air." He saved his praises for other actors in the film, saying that "Gert Fröbe is aptly fat and feral as the villainous financier, and Honor Blackman is forbiddingly frigid and flashy as the latter's aeronautical accomplice."

In Guide for the Film Fanatic, Danny Peary wrote that Goldfinger is "the best of the James Bond films starring Sean Connery ... There's lots of humor, gimmicks, excitement, an amusing yet tense golf contest between Bond and Goldfinger, thrilling fights to the death between Bond and Oddjob and Bond and Goldfinger, and a fascinating central crime ... Most enjoyable, but too bad Eaton's part isn't longer and that Fröbe's Goldfinger, a heavy but nimble intellectual in the Sydney Greenstreet tradition, never appeared in another Bond film." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times declared this to be his favourite Bond film and later added it to his "Great Movies" list.

The film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives a 99% rating and an average score of 8.6/10 based on 69 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "Goldfinger is where James Bond as we know him comes into focus – it features one of 007's most famous lines ('A martini. Shaken, not stirred') and a wide range of gadgets that would become the series' trademark". Goldfinger is the highest-rated Bond film on the site.

Box office[]

Goldfinger's $3 million budget was recouped in two weeks, and it broke box office records in multiple countries around the world. The Guinness Book of World Records went on to list Goldfinger as the fastest grossing film of all time. Demand for the film was so high that the DeMille cinema in New York City had to stay open twenty-four hours a day. The film closed its original box office run with $23 million in the United States and $46 million worldwide. After reissues, the first being a double feature with Dr. No in 1966, Goldfinger grossed a total of $51,081,062 in the United States and $73,800,000 elsewhere, for a total worldwide gross of $124,900,000.

The film distributor Park Circus re-released Goldfinger in the UK on 27 July 2007 at 150 multiplex cinemas, on digital prints. The re-release put the film twelfth at the weekly box office. Goldfinger would again receive a re-release in November 2020 in the wake of Connery's death.

Company Credits[]

Production Companies[]

  • Eon Productions (made by) (as Eon Productions Limited)

Distributors[]

Technical Specs[]

Runtime[]

  • 110 mins

Color[]

  • Color

Sound Mix[]

  • Mono (Westrex Recording System)
  • Dolby Surround 7.1

Aspect Ratio[]

  • 1.66:1 (intended ratio, Europe)
  • 1.85:1 (intended ratio, USA)
  • 4:3 (Full screen prints, along with the film itself in open matte)

Trivia[]

  • In the original end title credits, which featured the famous "James Bond will return in..." teaser, the next movie advertised was On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969). However, when the producers began pre-production, they were unable to secure the Swiss locations needed for the movie, and decided to make Thunderball (1965) instead. The end title teaser was later changed to advertise "Thunderball".
  • First movie to feature a title song that plays over the opening credits. "From Russia with Love (1963)" had a title song, but it played over the closing credits.
  • Due to the popularity and success of this movie, and its spy car the Aston Martin DB5, the vehicle gained the nickname, "The Most Famous Car in the World". Sales of the Aston Martin DB5 increased by fifty percent after the release of the movie. The Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) featured the Lotus Esprit, and sales also increased for that car after the movie premiered.
  • The title song is the first of three title songs sung by Dame Shirley Bassey for Bond movies, the others being title songs for Diamonds Are Forever (1971) and Moonraker (1979). The "Goldfinger" song was the first James Bond title song to crack the Billboard Top 10, peaking at number eight in February 1965.
  • The villain's name was borrowed from the architect Ernö Goldfinger, and his character bears some resemblance. Ernö Goldfinger consulted his lawyers when the book was published, prompting Fleming to suggest renaming the character "Goldprick", but eventually settled out of court in return for his costs, six copies of the book, and an agreement that the characters' first name Auric would always be used.
  • The film's opening teaser sequence is based on the novel's opening where Bond is in the Miami Airport lounge thinking about the recent killing of a drug smuggler.
  • The character "Pussy Galore" was named after Ian Fleming's pet octopus.
  • Concerned about censors, the film's producers thought about changing Pussy Galore's name to "Kitty Galore". They kept the original name when British newspapers began to refer to Honor Blackman as "Pussy" in the lead up to production.
  • Ian Fleming also contributed to the original draft screenplay for The Man from U.N.C.L.E. television series, in which one of the heroes was named "Napoleon Solo". That name originally came from the novel: Napoleon Solo is one of the crime bosses Goldfinger invites to participate in his scheme to steal the gold from Fort Knox, however, the character appearing in the film is a gangster referred to only as "Mr. Solo" (coincidentally a working title for The Man from U.N.C.L.E.), he exits the story due to "a pressing engagement."
  • Ford supplied the Lincoln Continental which is unceremoniously crushed in a junkyard compactor (causing much anger among American audiences) in return for the all-new Ford Mustang being showcased in the Swiss mountain driving sequence.
  • During a test screening of the car crusher scene, the projectionist stopped showing the footage and angrily confronted director Guy Hamilton over the destruction of the Lincoln Continental - at the time an expensive and desirable vehicle in the United States.
  • In the end sequence, when the atomic bomb is defused, the original ending countdown shown was "003" seconds remaining to detonation. When the film was released in the U.S., the producers changed it to 007 seconds, but the dialogue line remained: "Three more ticks and Mr. Goldfinger would have hit the jackpot".
  • For an unknown reason Jill and Tilly's surname was changed from Masterton to Masterson for the film.
  • The gold-painted girl in the opening credits is actually Margaret Nolan who also plays Bond's Miami masseuse, Dink.
  • Sean Connery never traveled to the United States to film this movie. Every scene where Bond is in America was shot at Pinewood Studios in London.
  • For security reasons, the filmmakers were not allowed to film inside Fort Knox. All sets for the interior of Fort Knox were designed and built from scratch.
  • The 3D map Goldfinger used during his mission briefing is now on display at Fort Knox.
  • Bond is not a fan of those other British 1960s icons The Beatles. He tells Jill Masterson that they should not be listened to without earmuffs.
  • Script co-writer Paul Dehn would later be hired to write most of the entries in the Planet of the Apes film franchise, in part due to his work on Goldfinger.
  • Although the car crushing sequence was filmed in a junkyard in Miami, the scene where Oddjob returns with the cubed remains of the Lincoln Continental were shot at Pinewood.  The production team struggled to locate a scrapyard in the UK that owned a  similar baling press which could produce a suitable stand-in prop, as such machines were still relatively rare outside the USA.  Eventually one was found.
  • Scenes from the film are shown during the opening credits sequence, although footage from the helicopter chase in From Russia with Love is also featured.
  • The film was temporarily banned in Israel due to Gert Fröbe's connections with the Nazi Party. The ban, however, was lifted many years later when a Jewish family publicly thanked Fröbe for protecting them from persecution during World War II.
  • Gert Fröbe was chosen for the villain's role because producers Saltzman and Broccoli had happened to see his performance in a German thriller named 'Es geschah am hellichten Tag' ('It happened in broad daylight', 1958), which is based on the story Das Versprechen (literally The Pledge) by Friedrich Dürrenmatt. In that movie, Fröbe performed the role of a psychopathic serial killer named Schrott, who lets out his frustrations about his overly dominating wife on helpless children.
  • The iconic slow aerial shot that follows the opening credits is that of the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach, which still stands. The big band piece accompanying that is John Barry's "Into Miami."
  • For many years, ABC's broadcasts of Goldfinger in the United States omitted the film's pre-credits sequence, going straight from the gunbarrel to the opening credits.
  • Auric Goldfinger and his henchman Oddjob are considered two of the great movie villains. Like many great movie villains, the actors portraying them are quite the opposite of their screen characters. Fellow cast members have remarked how charming and friendly Gert Fröbe and Harold Sakata were off-camera. Co-producer Albert R. Broccoli cast Fröbe, and had him singing and dancing, in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968).
  • This won the first Academy Award for a James Bond movie. It was for Best Sound Effects and it was won by Norman Wanstall. Thunderball (1965) won a Special Visual Effects Oscar the following year and producer Albert R. Broccoli was awarded the Irving Thalberg Award in 1982. The first Bond movie to receive the gilded statuette was the one with the gilded girl.
  • For a long time, this movie was tied with Dr. No (1962) as the shortest James Bond film, with a running time of one hour and fifty minutes. Quantum of Solace (2008) became the shortest at one hour and forty-six minutes.
  • George Lazenby and Pierce Brosnan named this as their favorite Bond movie.
  • This is the only EON Sir Sean Connery Bond movie that doesn't end with Bond at sea.
  • The title sequence was inspired by seeing light projecting on people's bodies as they got up and left a theater.
  • First opening credits sequence to show the actor playing James Bond. This is by utilizing footage from the first two James Bond movies, Dr. No (1962) and From Russia with Love (1963). This technique was repeated in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969). The first time an image of the actor playing James Bond would be part of the actual title sequence itself (i.e. not by way of footage edited into it) would not occur until The Spy Who Loved Me (1977).
  • Originally, the end teaser "James Bond will return in..." announced that the next movie would be On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969). However, there were pre-production issues for On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), so the producers decided to make Thunderball (1965) instead. However, by the time that decision was reached, this movie was already in theaters. Eventually, the teaser was altered to advertise "Thunderball", but there are still some prints of the movie with the On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) tag. Occasionally, this tag will be seen on some television prints and early VHS tapes. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) was made after Thunderball (1965) and You Only Live Twice (1967), after Sir Sean Connery's first departure from the series.
  • The debut of the Aston Martin.
  • With the death of Sir Sean Connery in 2020, Shirley Eaton became the last surviving major cast member.
  • Although third in the EON series, this was the first Bond movie to be shown on television in the U.S. ABC broadcast it in its Sunday Night Movie slot on September 17, 1972. It was not broadcast in the U.K. until November 3, 1976.
  • Final film of Tania Mallet.
  • This is the first movie in which Bond drives his Aston Martin DB5. The others being Thunderball (1965), GoldenEye (1995), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World Is Not Enough (1999), Casino Royale (2006), Skyfall (2012), and Spectre (2015). The DB5 has appeared with three different licence plates; BMT 216A (this movie, Thunderball (1965), Skyfall (2012), Spectre (2015)), BMT 214A (GoldenEye (1995), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World Is Not Enough (1999)), and 56526 (Casino Royale (2006)), which was the unique DB5 for being the only left hand drive DB5 Bond drives. Therefore, with eight movies, the DB5 car has appeared in more Bond movies than any actor who has played Bond.
  • Dame Shirley Bassey was the first singer for the movie's opening sequence. Also the most for signing another two movie opening sequences for Diamonds Are Forever (1971) and Moonraker (1979).

Connections[]

Follows[]

Followed by[]

References[]

Referenced in[]

  • Thunderball (1965)
  • Casino Royale (1967)
  • On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
  • For Your Eyes Only (1981) - Shot of Melina Havelock walking through woods with crossbow-and-arrow is similar to Tilly Masterston walking through woods in "Goldfinger'. Both these Bond Girls are out for revenge against a Bond Villain for killing loved one(s) and are both appoaching their target hit.
  • Octopussy (1983)
  • Never Say Never Again (1983) - Woman is found by James Bond dead on a bed.
  • Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) - In the opening sequence, Indiana Jones wears the smae off-white tuxedo with a black tie and a red flower lapel on his left-breast side as Sean Connery as James Bond did.
  • Gremlins (1984) - Gerald says "Give me a vodka martini. Shake, don't stir".
  • A View to a Kill (1985) - The scene in 'A View to a Kill' where Max Zorin speaks to the investors is similar to the scene in 'Goldfinger' where Auric Goldfinger tries to get funding from a group of mobsters, including the killing of one of the investors/mobsters who does not want to go through with it at the last minute by the henchmen (Oddjob in 'Goldfinger' and May Day in 'A View to a Kill').
  • The Living Daylights (1987) - Updated version of the Aston Martin / 25th Birthday series homage
  • True Lies (1994)
  • Men in Black (1997) - Jay's car comes with a little red button he's told not to press under any circumstances, the same as the passenger eject function in Bond's Aston Martin.
  • Snake Eyes (1998) - Rick jokingly calls Dunne "007" for having a homing device. James Bond first uses one in this movie.
  • Toy Story 2 (1999) - Mr. Potato Head uses his bowler hat to keep the doors open. The character of Odd Job from "Goldfinger" frequently used his bowler hat as a weapon by throwing it as a disc.
  • Bad Company (2002)
  • XXX (2002)
  • The Transporter (2002)
  • Madonna: Die Another Day (2002) (Music Video) - Oddjob and Jill Masterson sculpture in the Bond museum.
  • Die Another Day (2002) - Jinx is nearly cut with a laser in Mr. Kil's laboratory. The rest of the fight scene is also a tribute. Bond once again drives a gadget-laden Aston Martin, specifically with a passenger ejector seat. The new Q comments that, as he learned from his predecessor, "I never joke about my work, 007." The scene where Bond and Graves fence for money, only to see Bond up the stakes for one of Graves' diamonds, is suggestive of the golf match between Bond and Auric Goldfinger. The golf match had originally been for money, until Bond throws down a gold brick to "up the stakes". Bond is threatened with death in a depressurizing plane. Bond and Jinx receive electric shocks from a villain, Oddjob was killed by electrocution. In the pre-title sequence, Bond removes a wetsuit to reveal ordinary clothes underneath.
  • Mean Girls (2004) - referred to in rap by Kevin Gnapoor
  • The Incredibles (2004) - When Bob is approaching Syndrome's lair at night, the music and shots match the opening scenes of Goldfinger, as Bond approaches the oil storage tanks.
  • Stormbreaker (2006) - At Sayle Tower, Alex fights an Oddjob lookalike who throws a bowler hat.
  • Flushed Away (2006) - "Die Again Tomorrow" cover has a picture of a spy and a girl covered in gold.
  • Marks and Spencer James Bond 'Die Another Day' Television Commercial (2006) (Video) - This James Bond theme television commercial feature's Pink's "Let's Get This Party Started" sung by Dame Shirley Bassey who previously sung the title song for this James Bond movie.
  • Casino Royale (2006) - Bond wins a 1964 Aston Martin DB5 from Dimitrios during the first poker match at the Ocean Club. This is a left-hand drive version of the car featured in Goldfinger.
  • Skyfall (2012) - The iconic Aston Martin DB5 from Goldfinger returns - down to the number plate, BMT 216A, and the ejector seat activated by a red button in the shift lever, along with the classic Bond music from that era. When M asks where they're going, Bond gives the apposite reply, "Back in time". This is not, however, the same '64 Aston Martin Bond won in a card game in Casino Royale, which was a left-hand drive model.
  • Spectre (2015) - Ejector seat in Aston Martin DB10; James Bond wears a white tuxedo; Mute or near mute henchman; James Bond tormented by a high-tech device; Gadgets in the Aston Martin DB10 are labeled with the cheap punched adhesive labeling system Dymo Tape; Look and appearance henchman of Mr. Hinx resembles henchman Oddjob; James Bond taken to villain in Rolls Royce, also hands over gun to butler, and wears a suit similar to one in the equivalent scene in Goldfinger; Opening credits shows clips from previous Bond films; Arch villain owns a Rolls Royce
  • No Time to Die (2021) - Of the classic gun-metal gray classic James Bond car, the Aston Marting DB5, seen in the movie, special effects supervisor Chris Corbould has said: "Q Branch gadgets on the DB5 include...traditional smoke screen, mines dropping from under the rear bumper and an LED number plate creating a modern take on the 'Goldfinger' [1964] revolving version."

Features[]

Featured in[]

Spoofed in[]

  • Carry on Spying (1964) - Barbara Windsor's blonde character is Daphne Honeybutt evoking Honor Blackman's character name whilst a number of STENCH henchmen and henchwomen are wearing black uniforms as with the flying circus.
  • Casino Royale (1967) - Gilded girls in the finale ; Aston Martin joke
  • Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978) - Clouseau's animated flashlight-beam shining right at the camera and lighting up the whole screen in yellow during the opening credits, just like Bond's pistol-shot creates a "blood-filled screen" when he fires at the camera in the beginning of the J.B. films.
  • Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004) - Henchman uses ball to kill man in bar - spoof of Oddjob's deadly hat
Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.