 make the first, it works. In making the second, we knew we had something going. By Goldfinger we had a cultural phenomenon." It's safe to say that Bond Mania started with Goldfinger. Audiences around the globe gathered to see 007's latest adventure. Sean Connery, now an international movie star, dropped women's panties all around the world. The coolest guy every man wanted to be. James Bond was the trendsetter. And it's hard to imagine nowadays, but Bond was as big as the Beatles. Merchandise everywhere. I don't think Bond ever quite reached that same level of popularity that it did in the mid-60s. So it's pointless to deny that Goldfinger had made James Bond a phenomenon. A highly successful movie that all future Bond films try to live up to. The ingredients for this film, for one, director Terence Young, who directed the first two Bond films, didn't return as reportedly he demanded a paycheck that the producers couldn't meet. So director Guy Hamilton was brought on. It's worth pointing out that Guy Hamilton was already offered to direct Dr. Noh, but turned it down at the time. Production designer Ken Adam also returned after his absence from from Russia with love. But what was the key to this film's success? What made this film so special? And does that still apply today? The book Goldfinger, Fleming's 7th 007 novel, isn't necessarily the best book in the series. I would claim both Dr. Noh and from Russia with Love are the superior novels. I made in-depth reviews on all of those in my reading 007 series if you're curious about my thoughts on the books. Some Bond fans out there claim that this film is somewhat overrated. Is there some merit to that? Or is this truly simply a masterpiece? That's what we're going to be looking at today as I dive into the classic of all classics. Starting us off again with the now signature gun barrel sequence. The same one used in the first two films. Us Bond fans always like to point out that in the first three films it's not actually Sean Connery in that gun barrel but stuntman Bob Simmons. It is Sean Connery coming out of the water with that duck on his head though. Only he could make that look cool. Continuing the tradition started in from Russia with Love, the Bond films now started off with a pre-title sequence. But this time this whole sequence was completely unrelated to the rest of the plot. A bit of an appetizer if you will. Or as director Guy Hamilton called it, a wonderful piece of nonsense. And you can totally see that that is what this mini adventure delivers. Only Bond could come out of the water with his hair still looking perfect. Planting a bomb in some facility, walk out, taking off his wetsuit to reveal a perfect white tuxedo, walk into a bar, lights his cigarette at the exact moment the bomb explodes. A wonderful piece of nonsense indeed. One that hits the nail in the head. Connery is at his A game once again. I mean just look at the guy. All of that screaming and cheering that they did when Connery appeared is just not hard to understand in the slightest. The man just looks the business and you totally want to be this guy. If the belly dancer he's checking out at the bar looks familiar to you, that is because she is, as she previously played, Karen Bay's girl in From Russia With Love. Another aspect often seen within Bond. Recasting actors or actresses that had already starred in a different part previously. Of course Bond is the one that takes her back to his hotel room, but not before noticing the reflection of a bad guy sneaking up on him. So naturally he uses her as a shield because she must be working with that guy. Well, do we know for sure? No. But we're just witnessing a wonderful piece of nonsense in which Bond disables the guy in his bathtub only to utter the iconic line. Shocking. And so the king of cool exits the hotel room and enters the title sequence. Already you can notice a difference in tone compared to the previous two Bond films by Terence Young. Whereas those two felt like an extension and imagining of the Bond novels post 1950s, here the tone is much more that of a light-hearted and fun approach, not necessarily taken from the novels, but the film started to develop its own identity. It now feels like we've truly entered the bombastic era of the 1960s. And this wonderful mini-adventure was the perfect appetizer of what the cinematic Bond would become in this film. The title song is of course sung by Shirley Bassey, another ingredient that made this film so iconic. I don't rank this song in my top 10 Bond title songs, but Shirley Bassey is clearly the singer you associate with James Bond. And it's no coincidence she ended up becoming the only singer to date that did multiple Bond title songs. The titles itself, which by the way is done by Robert Brown-John again, like from Russia With Love, not Maurice Binder, also shares that unique gold-finger iconography, showcasing snippets of scenes yet to come in the film and even a sequence that never made it into the movie. And also, you gotta appreciate that golf ball going directly into the cleavage. I mean, that's just genius. Altogether, even when watching these titles all these decades after the movie's release, it just feels like you're about to watch something special. I can't really put my finger on to why. Maybe it's the bombastic grand feel of Bassey's song or simply the golden imagery, but I'm willing to bet even a perfect stranger to this film can feel it. The feeling of this movie just being a different animal compared to the rest. A feeling you're in for something special, classic and timeless. And that feeling continues after the titles with the film just seeming so proud to present itself with its grand music opening on Miami. This is where the film starts to get into that actual plot and takes a simplified approach to the beginning of the novel. Bond is out relaxing at the Fountain Blue Hotel in Miami, being massaged by some random babe, named Dink. Fun fact about her, by the way, she's played by Margaret Nolan and she was also starring as the Golden Girl in the title sequence. While I mentioned before that it would become a trope of the series to recast the same actors and actresses in different parts, it sadly would also become a trope to recast different actors for the same parts. And Felix Leiter is the prime example, something I always felt that was just a great shame. In the cinematic Bond universe, we are first introduced to Felix Leiter in Doctor No with Jack Lord having that same sort of swagger that mimics Bond. He was unavailable for Goldfinger, but instead of going for a similar actor, we now get Zach Linder, who just looks 20 years older and is a completely different type of Felix. It's such a shame the filmmakers always seemed so indifferent to whoever plays Felix, as this would become a trend as the series would progress. Bond meets up with Felix and says goodbye to Dink. Felix, say hello to Dink. Hi, Dink. Dink, say goodbye to Felix. Man talk. Now, this, of course, looking through the lens of today's society is a moment that you could say hasn't aged the best. Some would probably even claim it's controversial. When attempting to look at this within the context of the 60s, though, I feel this was supposed to be a far more innocent and mundane moment instead of being demeaning in any way, again, through the lens of the 60s. Though it's quite obvious that the actors aren't actually on location here as it cuts to a studio setting of the hotel with some obvious back projections, yet somehow the film gets away with it and it feels charming. Like when we are first introduced to Mr. Arik Goldfinger himself, and you can clearly see that it's a stand-in in the wide shot on location, but then it's Gerd Froep himself for the close-up in the studio. Arik Goldfinger, sounds like a French nail varnish. So, Gerd Froep, in my opinion, perfectly casts it, which says a lot because not only was he a German actor, he also pretty much only spoke German. He is dubbed throughout the whole movie by Michael Collins, and it's probably one of the best dubbing jobs in existence. The older bomb movies are full of dubbing, and it's just so seamless you wouldn't even notice if you hadn't known. There were plenty of other actors auditioning for the role of Goldfinger, who each spoke English much better than Gerd Froep. And while these actors did put in solid auditions for the part, nobody just came close to Gerd Froep. Even when reading the book, I can only picture him as Goldfinger. So, Goldfinger is a very wealthy man who Bond is asked to keep an eye out for by M. And he's suspected to be cheating playing Jinn. And gee, I wonder how he pulls that off. So Bond soon goes, hey, maybe it has something to do with that immense headphone plugged into his ear. In the book, Goldfinger used the excuse of being deaf and tells his opponent he has agoraphobia and can't stand wide open space. Therefore, he must face the hotel. Here, the movie takes a better excuse with him taking his usual seat because of his suntan. Bond easily walks into the hotel, getting the key to Goldfinger's suite of the maid who just walks off hilariously as if that didn't just happen. Oh, that man just called me sweet. And Bond, of course, finds a half-naked woman, Jill Massison, on the balcony, aiding Goldfinger with a pair of binoculars. Who are you? Bond, James Bond. And again, the film somehow manages to be cool and charming here, while the back projection is plainly obvious and not even in the right proportion in relation to the balcony. The ocean and pool area is way too high. And yet you have a huge smile on your face in the way Connery interacts with Shirley Eaton. He just has that natural way of charming women, much like when he charmed Miss Tarot in Dr. No or Tatyana in From Russia With Love. You can totally believe that Shirley Eaton would genuinely fall for Connery off-camera, too. So in a fantastic moment, Bond exposes Goldfinger's cheating and blackmills him into losing now, which totally pisses off Goldfinger and is one of those great one-uppings of the villain moments that just leave you grinning from ear to ear. And that grin doesn't really stop there. Not only has Bond have him pay back a few grand, he also steals his girl because, well, it's been a good 15 minutes and she's had a woman. So Bond just steals Goldfinger's girl and banks her in his own suite. I'm sorry, I can't. Something big's come up. He means his cock. So after sleeping with Jill, we get this curious moment of Bond commenting on the Beatles. My dear girl, there are some things that just aren't done, such as drinking Dom Perignon 53 above a temperature of 38 degrees Fahrenheit. That's as bad as listening to the Beatles with our earmuffs. Looking at this line in the context of 1964, the conservative man that Bond is wasn't exactly the target demographic of the Beatles, so it kind of makes sense that Bond wouldn't be a fan in this moment in time. It's ironic, though, considering Paul McCartney would sing a Bond title song a decade later and Ringo's wife would become a future Bond girl. Anyway, it's here where Bond is suddenly knocked out cold by a mysterious henchman with a bowler hat and he must have been out by that jab for a long time as he wakes up to Jill Massison being fully painted in gold. And though, logically, it raises way too many questions like how is she killed by paint and how did they manage to do it without staining the sheets and all that. But it truly is such an iconic and impressive image that just never fails to resonate. It's just one of the many elements of Goldfinger's iconography that just makes this film such a classic Bond film. So the movie moves back to London and M is obviously pissed at Bond for borrowing Goldfinger's girl instead of observing him. And I like these moments where it's obvious that M is the only authority in Bond's life. And you can see Bond is pissed too, probably more at himself for assuming there were no consequences or dangers to exposing the car cheating. And not being on guard more, though, I also like to think he's somewhat mad at Goldfinger, killing the innocent Jill. He's quickly back to his furthest self, though, one minute later with money penny. So later that night, Bond meets up with Colonel Smithers to learn more about Gold and receives the mission to investigate Goldfinger, who's suspected of smuggling his gold. And remember how I said in my Dr. No review how people just seem to look older back in the day. Actors like Taryn Edgerton or Zach Affron are now older than Connery was in Dr. No. Now, to prove my point more, take Colonel Smithers. How old do you think he was at the time of this film in his sixties or perhaps in his fifties? No, he was 39. Thirty nine. The guy hadn't even reached his forties yet. Pierce Brosnan was older at the time he first became Bond. Guess that's what the war and smoking does to you. Before setting out for his mission to investigate Goldfinger, we get the first proper cue scene. And this is yet another example of how Goldfinger set the standard for the cinematic Bond, whereas the previous two felt much more like the novels and the character of Q was more or less a serious quartermaster handing over some equipment in M's office. Here, Q is at his lab handing out Bond's gadgets. And it was Guy Hamilton who suggested to Desmond Llewellyn to not have any respect towards Bond because he messes up his equipment. Because originally Llewellyn wanted to play Q with a lot of admiration towards Bond, but Hamilton told him, no, no, he doesn't respect your stuff. He shouldn't respect him. It's here where that fun dynamic between Bond and Q is first established. So it's definitely not just Terence Young that put a lasting stamp on the franchise. Guy Hamilton did it too. And it's also here where the at the time brand new Aston Martin DB5 is first introduced. As you know, DB stands for definitely bad ass. Five, the coolest car in all of Bond. Marty McFly has the DeLorean Batman has the Batmobile. Bond has the DB5. It's funny to think the filmmakers probably just chose it because in the novel Goldfinger, Bond poses as a Richmond and gets to drive the Aston Martin DB3 to fit his cover. So they probably just used it and updated it because of the novel. Likely not realizing the icon it would grow out to be and the impact it would have on the series. All these decades later, every man would still want to have this thing. I mean, it has revolving number plates, machine guns, a smoke screen, a built in radar, totally predating satnav and Google Maps and even an ejector seat. You're joking. So equipped with a bar of gold as Bade, Bond is sent out to start his dangerous investigation by playing golf and as tedious as that sounds, the movie succeeds in gripping you throughout the entire sequence. That moment of Goldfinger and Bond sort of re-meeting each other is really good. Even when both characters are only saying how do you do in the dialogue? The underlying subtext can be felt. You can tell Goldfinger is sizing Bond up, likely already aware that he was the guy that caught him with the cheating on Miami and then stole his girl. But you can also tell Bond is doing the same, both giving that stare. The novel constantly mentions Goldfinger having an X-ray gaze looking straight into the back of Bond's skull multiple times. And I guess this is sort of the adaptation of that. This is also where we meet Goldfinger's iconic right-hand man, Oddjob. The music and the bowler had immediately clue us in that he's the same guy that knocked Bond out in the hotel suite in Miami. Oddjob is played by Harold Sakata and is definitely in the top two most iconic henchmen in all of Bond. So as the game starts, Bond gets down to business and showcases the Bade. Clearly, Goldfinger's weakness as he misses a very easy shot. Of course, much like he did playing cards in Miami, Goldfinger also cheats his way through golf, having a new ball planted in a more ideal location through Oddjob's pants. This allows for Bond to once again outsmart him. If that's his original ball, I'm Arnold Palmer. It isn't. How do you know? I'm standing on it. One to go, that'll be the clincher. All right. You play a slice and Joe one, don't you? You must have played the wrong ball somewhere on the 18th fairway. I'm afraid you lose the whole end of the match. There's just something so satisfying in watching Bond expose this cheat once again and not having Goldfinger get away with it. It's just impossible not to smile at Connery's cunningness and Goldfinger's anger. Before saying their goodbyes, Goldfinger gives Bond a warning to make sure they don't cross paths again, having Oddjob demonstrate his signature attack. This is the kind of stuff you would only see in a Bond movie, especially at the time, and it's just so brilliant. At the same time, it sets up Oddjob as a dangerous overpowered villain, even capable of crushing a golf ball, preheating the moment we know is coming that Bond eventually has to face him. Now, in the novel, there was a whole sequence following all this where Bond would get invited to Goldfinger's mansion and he would snoop around there and all that. None of that is in the movie, though. And I guess for the pacing's sake, they made the right call in dropping all that. Instead, Bond places a homer on Goldfinger's car and follows him down to Switzerland to see what he's up to there. This is definitely the best looking location Bond visits in this entire film. Cinematically, all of this just looks so stunning. There's just something about seeing a DB5 drive around in 1960s Switzerland. This is also where a new lady shows up, driving a Ford Thunderbird, which Bond is tempted to follow as well, but he sticks to the mission. Later on, he finds Goldfinger having a stop to visit the most random fruit stand I've ever seen. But I'm obviously not from Switzerland, so I asked a Swiss Bond friend of mine if this is something common. And yeah, it actually totally is, especially in the Alps. So the more you know, we also got a moment that as a first time viewer could totally make you believe that the Ford Thunderbird girl is trying to kill Bond and is in cahoots with Goldfinger, especially because Adjav gives that random smile after the shot. This, of course, does motivate Bond to go after the girl and find out who she is. In a 1960s car chase in the Alps, which is such an upgrade to the one that we see in Doctor No, even if it's not really a deadly chase as opposed to Bond just overtaking her like a maniac, it's still beautifully filmed, especially for the time. It also allows for the first ever on screen use of gadgets on a bond car, where Bond uses his drill to destroy not just her tires, but the entire side of her car, which brings one of the most hilariously dated moments of the girl coming to a stop. I just can never help but laugh at that moment. Also funny to me is how Bond totally acts all innocent after doing that. Are you all right? You know, you're lucky to be alive. No, thanks to you. Look at the defect of some kind, most likely. Ah, yes, a defect of some kind. I mean, forget about the tires. How does she not address that the entire side of the car is ripped to shreds? How did she miss that? Anyway, we, of course, soon find out her name is Tilly. She's played by Tania Male, who was a model at the time. Fun fact about her is that she originally auditioned for the role of Tatjana Romanova in the previous film. Bond does some questioning and she's totally being suspicious and lies about her last name, and then he just drops her off. And he keeps his eye on the mission. Wow, he doesn't even give her his card so he can bang her later on. He must have really learned something after Miami. But the mission is Goldfinger and he is out at a factory doing stuff. Stuff Bond needs to find out. And how gorgeous is this shot of the DB5 with this backdrop, by the way? Beautiful. So Bond waits around until the sun goes down and hops into stealth mode. And much like the opening of the film, he gets to sneak around in one of those reconnaissance suits. And I really wish we got more of that in modern day Bond. I just love that stuff, the music amplifying, the quiet tension. Bond doing stealthy spying while avoiding the guards or, well, Asians in pajamas. It's just great. Having briefly visited Pinewood Studios in October 2022, I'm pretty sure that that is where this is filmed. Just outside of the studios. Anyway, Bond finds out that Goldfinger is indeed smuggling gold through the bodywork of his Rolls Royce. And I mentioned the dubbing of Goldfinger being superb and unnoticeable throughout the film. That is with the exception of this scene. It's very minor, anyway, and I was never too bothered about it. But it's just obvious that the dialogue was added in in post. So Bond overhears Operation Grantslam. For now, just a meaningless word. As he moves back into the forest around the factory, he runs into Tilly again. Tilly turns out to be named Tilly Masterson, the sister of Jill, and is out for revenge to kill Goldfinger because he killed her sister. So she wasn't aiming at Bond before, but at Goldfinger, but missed by, like, a hundred miles. So what is her plan to try and kill Goldfinger from here when he's inside the factory, you know, protected by a concrete wall? Also, I'm kind of glad that Tanya Mahle didn't get to be Tatyana Romanova in From Russia With Love. Her acting in this particular scene. He got my sister. Tilly Masterson. I knew your sister, Jill. I know what it is to her in Miami. No, you don't. Let me go. It's just God awful. It's like she can't contain her smile being held by Connery. And she's just saying the dialogues he's supposed to. And it's a bit cringe-worthy. And why would she even question Bond knowing her sister when clearly he knows all the facts in her defense? She wasn't an actress, but that kind of shows, too. She does manage to accidentally set off the alarm, though. And the pair have to escape Oddjob and Goldfinger's goons in yet another car chase. This was also filmed near Pinewood in Black Park right behind the studios, another place I visited in real life. The car chase itself is all right, although a bit silly in places. Bond gets to use the smoke screen and drop some oil. Well, Tilly really looks like she's having the time of her life being chased by bloodthirsty murderers. One of the chasing cars slips off a cliff and explodes for no real reason at all. They really did like the cars exploding midway off a cliff thing in the 60s, huh? And then they run into a dead end and Bond is like, quick, I'll pull up this bulletproof shield protecting us from guns and throwable bowler hats. I better stay behind it. You run off right in the open. And of course, Tilly is killed. First off, what the hell, Bond? And second off, how did that bowler hat not leave a single scratch when killing her while it decapitated a stone statue before at the golf place? Oh, shit, I didn't even get to shag her yet. Thanks to Bond, both of the masters and sisters got killed. It's not exactly his finest hour. She didn't get killed at this point in the book, by the way, Tilly stayed around right up until the climax in that one. I do believe the filmmakers made the right call in sacrificing her earlier for the film as the main Bond girl is yet to be introduced. And she wouldn't really serve any meaningful purpose to still be around at that point of the script. So Bond has captured and somehow is lucky enough to still be allowed to drive his own car and have the guard conveniently sit right next to him in the ejector seat. The bad guy gets on the ejector seat, never gets in the back. Drive, Mr. Band, I am in the back with the gun pointing at you. You'll drive like to shut up in the front here. The actual execution of Bond using the ejector seat to launch the guard out is still cool, though, and Bond gets to make a second escape attempt. I never know why exactly Goldfinger would have an 80 year old granny busting out a machine gun as the first line of defense. But I always found it strangely hilarious. Or maybe this is another one of those people used to look older things. And she's actually 36. Who knows? In any case, Bond once again manages to screw up thinking there's a car coming straight at him while he has no way out. So he just drives into a wall and it turns out to be just a reflection of a mirror. How on earth did he fall for such a cheap trick? Plus, the mirror seems to be hanging much higher and seems really small. This is what stopped 007. You see, fans who claim that Goldfinger is overrated certainly get to hit their point home with these past couple of scenes. Besides looking like the coolest guy on the planet and one up in Goldfinger twice in fantastic fashion, Bond really hasn't done much noteworthy stuff in terms of being successful in his mission. He got two women killed and now is captured. Does that writing make this an overrated movie, though? On the contrary, I present to you my counter-argument. Once again, bringing us not just an iconic Bond moment, but one of the most memorable moments in all of cinema. Do you expect me to talk? No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die. Bond strapped to the table with the laser slowly approaching him. People were at the edge of their seats for this scene in 1964. And they still are watching this today. The novel had Bond strapped to a table with a saw slowly reaching his privates. And again, I feel the filmmakers made the right call in updating it to a laser. For one, with a saw, we probably wouldn't be able to hear the dialogue. No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die. What did you say? I expect you to die. We're having pie? No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die. It wouldn't have been the same. But in all seriousness, the scene is great. I think what makes it so gripping and tense is the fact that Goldfinger can't even be bothered to watch Bond get killed. He just walks off board and speaks to some of his minions about whatever more important stuff is on his mind, as if killing Bond with the laser was just another chore that came up in the day for him. Meanwhile, the laser is still creeping in closer. Sweat is piling up on Bond's forehead and Goldfinger is not in the slightest interested in Bond's fate. You really start to wonder how Bond is going to save himself out of this one. Attempting to mention 008 will replace him if he fails the report. Goldfinger doesn't care. Trying to throw the Operation Grand Slam out there. Goldfinger isn't moved. Must be something he just overheard. The laser still creeps in, but then Bond manages to raise a slight doubt in Goldfinger's mind. There might be another agent after him, after all. He might know something about his Grand Slam plan, and then the laser is switched off in the final second and Bond is strangled and imprisoned. This has to be one of the most memorable moments, not just in this film, but in all of Bond and quite possibly in all of cinema.