Goldfinger (1964), one of four Bond films directed by Guy
Hamilton, is the one that set the template for the rest of one of the most
successful franchise in history. Dr. No
was the first, but it was a small first step. From Russia With Love is great, but it can pass as a regular Cold
War spy film. With Goldfinger however,
we get the cold open followed by a song interpreted by a popular artist, a
villain with a dastardly plot, a henchman with a special weapon, life-saving
gadgets provided by Q branch, an Aston Martin, and a vodka martini; shaken, not
stirred. Then of course you have the women. I know it was the 60s, but
seriously, Pussy Galore?
As I grew up in
the 90s, my first Bond was Pierce Brosnan in Goldeneye, after which I was hooked. I then spent hours playing the
best-selling game on Nintendo 64, I watched every new movie on the big screen,
and I made it my goal to get every Bond movie on VHS, from Sean Connery to
Timothy Dalton. I got a an illustrated book detailing all of Bond’s vehicles,
suits, weapons, and used it for a school project. Clearly there is a special
place in my movie lover’s heart for Bond, maybe because of the globe trotting
adventure, the cool gadgets, the over-the-top villains, or the ever-evolving
Bond girls. Forget Star Trek conventions, I am waiting for the Bond conventions
where guys will dress in tuxedos and the bars will serve martinis.
There are of
course endless debates about who is the best Bond, but Sean Connery deserves
the crown by default for being the first to play the character, and thus set
the tone for the other actors who would follow in his step. Of course the Bond
you see in Goldfinger could probably
not behave the same way today as he does in the 60s. He slaps women on the rear
as they leave and easily seduces them, even though it will mostly likely lead
to their deaths, or in the case of Shirley Eaton, being covered in gold paint
by the villain. However you have to admit it is pretty cool when in the cold
open he takes off his wetsuit to reveal he was wearing a tuxedo underneath the
whole time.
That is one of
the key characteristics of Bond: staying cool under pressure no matter what. In
one of the most iconic scenes in the movie and the franchise, the villain Auric
Goldfinger (Gert Fröbe) has captured Bond after his henchmen have chased Bond’s
Aston Martin DB5, equipped with everything from machine guns to an ejector seat.
Bond now finds himself strapped to a table with a laser slowly making its way
towards his Downton Abbey. There is no one coming to rescue him, no gadget by
the resourceful Q (Desmond Llewelyn) that can save him now, and Goldfinger
tells him he does not expect him to talk, but to die. This is not an interrogation;
it’s a painful execution. Yet Bond does talk, bluffing about knowing everything
about Goldfinger’s scheme and that if he dies now Bond’s people will come
looking for him.
The bluff works,
temporarily sparring Bond and allowing him to actually get to know Goldfinger’s
evil plot, which targets the American gold deposit in Fort Knox, Kentucky. In
what can only be described as one of the most detailed exposition scenes ever
recorded, Goldfinger reveals a huge maquette to members of organized crime to
explain how he will gas the guards, blow up the gates, and make his way to the
gold deposit. Oddly enough, Goldfinger then kills the gangsters using the gas
intended for the heist, so really the exposition was intended for the audience.
This of course
leads to the inevitable third act when Bond must defeat the villain with the
help of the girl, in this case Honor Blackman’s Pussy Galore, Goldfinger’s
pilot and the leader of an all-female team of pilots called Pussy Galore’s
Flying Circus. Again, this was the 60s. Bond must also fight the villain’s
personal henchman, silent Korean killer Oddjod, who in addition to being built
like a small tank has a hat equipped with a razor blade that he uses like a
lethal boomerang.
From the general
plot to characters’ names, this can all seem very ridiculous, but it is
undeniably fun. Who wouldn’t like a movie about a smooth-talking British spy
travelling to Florida, Switzerland, and Fort Knox while fighting the bad guys
and ultimately getting the girl? No wonder the same formula has worked for 24
movies (as of 2015). At this point it is a forgone conclusion that, yes, “Bond
will be back.”
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