Bondathon: Goldfinger

Goldfinger is often considered one of the quintessential Bond films. It’s a film that’s held as the gold standard of Bond films and was the highest-grossing film in the series until Skyfall.

After a successful mission in Latin America James Bond gets to relax at Miami Beach. Whilst he was on holiday Bond gets his new assignment, investigate the gold-obsessed madman Auric Goldfinger (Gert Fröbe).

Dr. No and From Russia with Love were excellent spy-thrillers and had most of the hallmarks of the series, Goldfinger was the film that cemented the formula. This was the film that had a more action-ordinated pre-title sequence and has the first true (and one of the best) Bond theme with Shirley Bassett’s “Goldfinger.” There was more humour, quips, and one-liners, Bond got more gadgets, and Oddjob was one of the most iconic henchmen. Bassett’s singing style served as a template for future films and big, mute henchmen became a stable of the series. Goldfinger was the first film where Bond drives the Aston Martin DB5 and even though Desmond Llewelyn was in From Russia with Love his characterisation was like the character he became in later films – i.e. having more banter with Bond and act like a parent handling a disobedient child.

Iconic is a perfect word to describe Goldfinger. It was filled with iconic images, scenes, and characters. This was the film that had Jill Masterson painting gold, Oddjob showing off his hat throwing skills, Bond nearly getting sliced in half by a laser, and introduces a Bond Girl with a risqué name. Goldfinger has everything a Bond fan would want – it perfected the villain, henchmen, and Bond Girl roles. Because of this Goldfinger has been referenced and spoofed in many ways. Quantum of Solace referenced Masterson’s death, and The Simpsons and Austin Powers series has parodied aspects of the film.

Goldfinger was an obese, sweaty man who physically wouldn’t have been a threat to Bond. He made up for his lack of physical ability by being vengeful, sadistic, and intelligent. He was the first villain to do a grant monologue about his plan in an excellent scene where models came up from the floor and photos were revealed on the walls. I personally loved that he was competitive and a cheater and that Bond screws with him. I also loved the way Michael Collins said the line “No Mr. Bond, I expect you to die.” Goldfinger was a villain who was a narcissist who loved to show off his brilliance to Bond, and he was smart enough to have a backup plan when things went wrong. Goldfinger’s plan was a mix of egotism, his own self-interest, and had geopolitical implications because he planned to nuke America’s gold reserves.

Pussy Galore was the first Bond Girl that was a match for Bond. She was a skilled pilot and could fight Bond with her judo training. She was also more resistant to Bond’s masculine charms than the previous Bond girls. Tilly Masterson was an excellent secondary Bond girl who was out for revenge and becomes a temporary ally of Bond’s.

Whilst Goldfinger was a great film in the franchise it’s not without its issues. The most infamous was the scene where Bond and Pussy Galore were in the barn which has been seen as being a bit rapey. It was controversy at the time, let alone now. Even big Bond fans acknowledge its problems. The filmmakers did try to soften the blow by having some playful music and it’s not out of place in films and TV in general where characters a heated argument or a woman attacking a man turns into passionate lovemaking.

On a story level Bond was useless during the second act because he was held hostage and was hanging around Goldfinger’s farm. Goldfinger just kept the MI6 agent around until he can ruin the operation. Felix Lester (Cec Linder) was inept in the film and even though Linder was a year younger than Jack Lord in Dr. No, the replacement looked a lot older.

The biggest gripe with the film was the required suspension of disbelief when Operation Grand Slam was enacted. Even in a Bond film, it’s hard to believe that the US Army would play dead and allow a nuclear bomb within Fort Knox. Goldfinger did say that the bomb could use the bomb on another target if he didn’t use it on Fort Knox, but that was a flimsy reason to allow Goldfinger to get as far as he did.

Even with some of its story issues Goldfinger, it was able to overcome them because it was such an entertaining and well-crafted film. It’s a great jumping-off point for a non-fan to get into the classic Bond films.