The deaths of Goldfinger and Oddjob are reworked to fit the flow of the storyline, and the results are, for me, a mixed bag. Oddjob s death by electrocution inside the gold vault is an ingenious touch-it s a fitting climax to the battle, and involving Oddjob s weapon in the short circuit is suitably ironic. Goldfinger meets his maker in the manner used for Oddjob in the book-being sucked out of the airplane window. Clever, but for me Goldfinger s bare-handed strangulation by Bond would have been a more satisfying end to the man who had the Masterson sisters swatted aside like flies.

Maibaum and Dehn produced, for the most part, a tight script that sacrificed no plot information, actually enhanced the presentation of some of it, and treated the Fleming original material with respect. It also results in the shortest running time of any film in the series, although it does not seem like it For these reasons, Benson writes-and I wholeheartedly agree-that the Goldfinger script is the only one in the series to actually improve on Fleming s book.

However, the emphasis was shifted, not so subtly, from Fleming s tough, resourceful cold warrior to the gadgetry he used instead of his wits to bail himself out of tight spots. The screen time during which the Aston Martin is put through its paces culminating in the use of the ejector seat seems to dominate most viewers perceptions of the film. For the first time (but not the last) the gadgets manipulated Bond instead of the other way around. With a few exceptions (most notably On Her Majesty s Secret Service, The Living Daylights and Licence To Kill) the potentially very interesting human aspects of the Bond character took a back seat to gadgetry and technology from this point onward. The formula was born in this picture; unfortunately, James Bond s personality, which ironically had really emerged in the Goldfinger novel, became a very small part of the mix.

In fairness, though, it must be admitted that one of the more enjoyable aspects of the series is the verbal jousting between Bond and Q , played to perfection by the inimitable, irreplaceable Desmond Llewelyn, and if we didn t have the gadgets we wouldn t have him. After a brief and bland appearance in From Russia, With Love, Llewelyn s part is expanded considerably in what I consider to be Guy Hamilton s biggest single contribution to the Bond mythos. Llewelyn s Q was being clinical and deferential until Hamilton yelled cut and told Llewelyn, You can t stand this man (Bond)! He treats all your inventions with contempt! The Bond/ Q scenes in Goldfinger, Thunderball and You Only Live Twice are pure classics, and it would prove to be very difficult to recapture their flavor in subsequent films.

Sean Connery himself is once again outstanding, giving in this film the performance that sets the standard for Bond, and arguably for other cinema action heroes for years to come; although I personally feel his high-water mark remains From Russia, With Love (which Connery himself has said is his favorite Bond film). As to the other cast members, Gert Fröbe is the perfect image of Fleming s Auric Goldfinger (although perhaps a bit too tall), and defines for all time the classic larger-than-life Bond villain. There was one small problem-his English was unintelligible, as Honor Blackman recalled with some amusement. Despite the fact that Fröbe s dialogue had to be dubbed by actor Michael Collins (which is not noticeable; Goldfinger won the Oscar for achievement in sound), the round, redheaded German actor delivers the most memorable performance of his career.

Tosh Togo, the Hawaiian wrestler (and silver medalist on the 1948 U.S. Olympic weight-lifting team) acting under the name of Harold Sakata, is equally memorable and chilling as Oddjob, the man with the world s deadliest haberdasher. Honor Blackman becomes the first, but not the last, graduate from the cast of the TV series The Avengers to appear in the Bond series. Miss Blackman delivers the goods quite well as Pussy Galore, one of Fleming s most memorable female characters. Pussy s unabashed Lesbianism was apparently sacrificed for the screen in favor of a fierce, if slightly butch (notice she even wears a man s Rolex) independence. Nonetheless, Pussy is every bit Bond s match before eventually succumbing to his irresistible charms, although in the name of political correctness you could never have the seduction scene in the barn in today s cinema without cries of sexual harassment-or worse.

Cec Linder as Felix Leiter doesn t suit Fleming s description at all (I have always felt the perfect Leiter would be a thirty-ish Clint Eastwood). It s not Linder s fault he was miscast-he had replaced Austin Willis, who wound up playing Goldfinger s card-game victim Mr. Simmons. Willis would have been no better. Linder does his best, but it doesn t help that Leiter s role is underwritten-he s basically reduced to a messenger between Bond and M . Tania Mallet is adequate as Jill s sister, Tilly Masterson (changed from Masterton in the book).

As Jill, Shirley Eaton is easily the most memorable Bond actress if you measure impact relative to actual screen time. Against the backdrop of John Barry s perfect musical cue, her gilded demise is a scene that really sticks in your mind. Barry s score overall is perfect at every turn, and his abundant use of bells and triangles-presumably to simulate the jingling of gold coins-combines with Ken Adam s ingenious set designs to create the impression that gold tinges every frame of the film.

Next Page