Almost 51 years ago, what is considered to be the dawn of the commercial-jet age, James Bond stepped into the movie history, only to give the audiences a taste of how stylish and thrilling life could be. But there was an immediate problem; creating the cinematic Bond was nothing short of a peril that the author of the best-selling novel, Ian Fleming, discovered when he first tried to take his hero to the silver screen. It took an unlikely team of two small-time producers, an apprentice director and a “rough diamond” of a star to create the 007’s debut film, Dr No, the beginning of a franchise that is worth $13.8 billion, today.
Much to the producers’ amusement, their film was an instant hit. And when the second James Bond film From Russia With Love managed to top the charts at the box-office, the producers knew they struck gold with the character. Looking forward to increase the appeal of the next film to a more global audience, the American market in particular, they picked Fleming’s seventh Bond novel, Goldfinger to be the third film. With a large amount of the story taking place in the US as well as Switzerland and the UK it was presumed that the film would have a proper international feel and would be more appealing to the American audiences specifically.
Even though Goldfinger was the third feature in the Bond franchise, it remained as the first Bond blockbuster, a smash hit that turned the series into a phenomenon. 51 years after its London premiere on September 17, 1964, which was flooded by fans fighting to get into the theatre, to date, it still remains as the definitive big-screen manifestation of the world’s most famous secret agent.
The first two Bond films, Dr No and From Russia With Love, were both bold and bawdily sexist, animation of slick machismo paired with humour and flair. Sean Connery wearing the tuxedo, Bond was a mix of charm, elegance, arrogance and rough toughness.
What must it have been like to see Goldfinger in 1964, discovering the charms of James Bond first-hand on the big-screen? It is the first James Bond film, if truth be told, to forge its own identity as something that challenges all the other spy genre films that came before it. It created the basic structure that can be applied to nearly all Bond films to follow.
Today, though, you can see them as an interpretation of masculine fantasies with delusional action. Goldfinger not only increases the stakes on every level, it adds a few new fundamentals of its own that made the series.
The first larger-than-life Bond villain
Auric Goldfinger, an evil super-baddie and a megalomaniac billionaire, who’s plan was to destroy America’s gold supply. He smothered one victim in gold paint and crushed the other in a scrap-metal cube. The role of Goldfinger was played by a German actor, Gert Frobe, who couldn’t speak a word of English. His entire performance was dubbed by British actor Michael Collins.
The first henchman
A mute Korean bodyguard, Oddjob, gave Bond his most daunting challenge yet. With the help of his bowler hat and a twist of a wrist, Oddjob was capable of decapitating any opponent. While the whole concept hovers over demeaning stereotype, Harold Sakata, a Hawaiian athlete-turned-actor, made the character, one of the most popular evil sidekick by playing the part completely with a straight face.
James Bond: Do you expect me to talk?
Auric Goldfinger: No, Mr Bond, I expect you to die.
The first woman to challenge 007
A tough private pilot/instructor with her own all-female flying circus, Honor Blackman played the part of Pussy Galore. She is only Bond beauty, who jumps right in and battles it out with the boys. But in the end, the charms of Bond were just too irresistible for her, which seduces her to change sides.
Pussy Galore: My name is Pussy Galore.
James Bond: I must be dreaming.
A self-aware wittiness
Bond and the villains drop witticism in their mockery and Bond seduces his conquests with ambiguous words. The name Pussy Galore in particular was rather mesmerising; the first of many indicative names for the Bond girls.
The theme song
Shirley Bassey, belted out a bold, brassy theme song that set the bar for future theme songs for all Bond movies to come.
The gadgets
Goldfinger had rather cool gadgets, some of which laid the foundation for future inventions. It also saw the inception of the most iconic car in the world, The Aston Marin DB5. The Q-division, replaced the Bentley of “From Russia With Love” with the DB5 and outfitted it with all the gadgets that we have come to we expect from a Bond mobile. From the machine guns in the front to the rotating license plates and even an ejector seat, it was mind boggling. The best gadget wasn’t in 007’s arsenal. It was however, the industrial laser that Goldfinger uses on Bond. It became a standard device in the spy kit after 1970, but back in 1964 it was virtually a science fiction.
James Bond: Ejector seat? You’re joking!
Q: I never joke about my work 007.
Goldfinger proved to be a commercial success, reclaiming its target budget of $3 million in just two weeks. It became one of the first true blockbusters. Goldfinger went on to make over $124 million worldwide breaking a number of records that include the title of the fastest grossing film of all time. The film also spawned a huge range of goodies and merchandise, all increasing the popularity of the James Bond brand. The only problem now that Broccoli and Saltzman faced was how do they follow this level of success. l
