Goldfinger (1964)

Today, we continue my James Bond marathon with the third official film, Goldfinger (1964).  Now with pictures!  Go back to my previous James Bond reviews for some extra images to enjoy.

SYNOPSIS:
James Bond (Sean Connery) is tasked with tracking a self-made jeweler and gold bullion dealer by the name of Auric Goldfinger (Gert Fröbe).  He's to find out if Goldfinger is importing his gold illegally.  But while casing the eccentric gentleman, Bond discovers a far more devious plot to raid the gold stores at Fort Knox and obliterate the world's economy!

REVIEW:
Q (Desmond Llewelyn) is back again, this time issuing James Bond his most famous car: a 1964 Aston Martin DB5.  But this is no ordinary car.  It includes high-tech gadgets such as rotating license plates, GPS tracking, bullet-proof rear plate, smoke screen and oil slick buttons, machine guns that pop out of the front, and of course, a button on the shift knob that ejects the passenger seat.  Q also hands Bond two tracking devices; one the size of a deck of cards that can be hidden in a vehicle, and a miniature version to put in a hidden compartment in the sole of his shoe.

The gold standard of Bond cars

Goldfinger is the first official Bond villain who is not associated with SPECTRE.  He was associated with them in the books, but for the film version, he was just an eccentric man who loved everything about gold and would do anything to increase the value of his gold collection.  As you may have guessed, Austin Powers' Goldmember was based on Goldfinger; although Goldmember was a lot more creepy.

Goldfinger does not approve of Goldmember

Goldfinger employs as his personal muscle, a short, mute Asian man by the name of Oddjob.  His specialty (besides being insanely strong) is throwing his steel-rimmed bowler hat to kill people.  He was also the inspiration for the Austin Powers henchman, Random Task, who would throw his shoe at people.  Anyone who played the multiplayer mode of the old Nintendo 64 game GoldenEye can attest that Oddjob is the absolute worst.  Being the shortest character, he was the hardest to hit in that game.  Screw anyone who chose to play as Oddjob!

Playing as Oddjob is cheating!

Ahem.  This film was far more successful than the previous two, and brought about its own share of recognizable tropes.  For instance, there's a scene where Bond is strapped to a table while a laser is slowly moving up between his legs.  A nervous Bond asks Goldfinger, "Do you expect me to talk?"  To which Goldfinger laughs, "No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die!"

That's gonna sting a little...

There is another famous scene where Bond finds a girl dead who has been painted gold from head to toe.  This scene was due to the old superstition that if you covered your entire body in paint, you would somehow suffocate and die.  It was believed that your skin needed to breathe, and covering all of your skin would kill you.  Fortunately, that's not a real thing.

What a way to go... suffocated by blocked pores

The Bond Girl in this film is a tough and feisty lady by the name of Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman), who is a pilot and has trained a team of female pilots known as Pussy Galore's Flying Circus.  So far, she's the toughest woman in the series.  She spends most of her screen time rejecting Bond's charm and fighting back when cornered.  It was definitely a different era when this film released, because the way Bond eventually seduces her is very rapey.  He ends up forcing her down to the ground, pinning her with his own body. She fights him the entire time, until he inevitably gets close enough to locks lips with her.  All of a sudden, her fight is gone and she finally gives in to him.  My wife and I joked that Bond's lips must be magical because no girl continues to resist him once he's kissed them.  And Sean Connery's Bond has been very forceful in initiating intimacy; sometimes with strangers he's just met!  He was a powerful sex icon in his day, but by today's standards, Bond would be in jail for sexual assault in a heartbeat.

This isn't creepy at all...

After the lighter, more romantic theme of the previous film, this film comes in strong with a powerful singer, cautioning against letting Goldfinger get too close.  Here's the film's opening title sequence:

RECOMMENDATION:
This film improves on the previous two, having finally found a good blend between secret agent and gentleman spy.  The story is exciting from start to finish and the battle of wits between Bond and Goldfinger keeps you entertained.  Not to mention, Goldfinger's plan, once laid out, is actually quite brilliant.  If you watch any of the early Bond films, you have to see this one!