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ROBERT COTTON
I was heartbroken to learn Gert Fröbe didn't do his own dialogue. Of all the dub jobs I have ever seen, I have rarely seen one that so perfectly fit the actor to the voice. The first exceptional single villain in the series and the one they tried to copy far too often for their own good. Goldfinger, rather than reacting with the cold indifference of the earlier villains, exudes a malevolent glee that's almost catching. Instead of the "here's my scheme" scene wherein the villain awaits Bond's admiration, Goldfinger revels in admiration over his own cleverness. He doesn't need Bond's respect. Oddjob is the first of the true supernatural creatures in the series. He's invincible, inscrutable, and with his empty smile, completely riveting. Even when he kills with his amazing bowler, we're amused, but wary of his absolutely effortless power. The very best. TOM ZIELINSKI Auric Goldfinger - It is said that a Bond film is only as good as its villain, and that tenet is spot-on here. Goldfinger is widely considered the classic James Bond film, and Gert Fröbe in the title role simply shines. Though his voice is dubbed, Fröbe carries himself perfectly and  displays the swagger throughout the film that a megalomaniac role demands. Goldfinger's plan to contaminate all the gold in Fort Knox (an improvement upon the novel) is big, hairy, and audacious. It works because it isn't played for laughs, though rookie Bond director Guy Hamilton does bring a lighter touch than Terence Young. Some great dialogue between Goldfinger and Bond is among the best in the series, and the golf scene is absolutely terrific from beginning to end. Goldfinger's airplane-window demise is one of the most enduring cinema images ever burned into my head. "Do you expect me to talk?" "No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die." Perfect.
Oddjob - The mute Korean that comes directly from the pages of Fleming's novel, Olympic silver-medalist weight-lifter Toshiyuki (Harold) Sakata is perfect in the role. Shown often with that knowing, sinister smile, I loved him as caddy to a cheating Goldfinger in the excellent golf sequence. Oddjob's murder of Jill Masterson by covering her in gold paint and the fight with Bond inside Fort Knox is iconic cinema. Oddjob's demise ("He blew a fuse.") is the classic send-off. As henchman, it gets no better than this. JAMES McMAHON Goldfinger - Perhaps the best villain in any 007 movie, Gert Fröbe must share credit for the terrific performance with the uncredited actor who actually provided Goldfinger's voice. Without any of the typical Fleming villain disfigurements to distinguish his look, Auric Goldfinger manages to be most people's model of what a Bond villain should be. Oddjob - Harold Sakata, AKA Tosh Togo, brought a lot of confidence and screen presence to a difficult role to try to bring to life, and without the aid of any dialogue to help put it across. A trooper to the end, Sakata was burned in the final electrocution scene, but stayed with the shot until director Guy Hamilton called "Cut!" |
ED WERNER
Auric Goldfinger is probably the most recognized of all the Bond baddies. He is on screen from almost the beginning of the film and one never tires of watching him. He is the personification of greed and a brilliant criminal strategist. His dialog is so well written, that the character demands your attention whenever he is present. The one piece of dialog that even non-Bond aficionados can quote from the series is: James Bond: Do you expect me to talk? Goldfinger: No Mr. Bond, I expect you to die! How can you not love this guy? BILL KOENIG The first fantastic villains set the standards for those who would follow. Gert Fröbe 's Goldfinger is an imposing presence (which is interesting considering he 's huge while Fleming 's description of the character was as short). Harold Sakata 's Oddjob, using only grunts and physical presence, created one of the most memorable characters in film history. Oddjob, at times, is too imposing (such as when Bond hurls a gold bar at him and he' s not the least bit hurt). Still, his demise in the bowels of Fort Knox is one of the iconic moments of the Eon series and a big improvement over Fleming 's novel. DEBORAH LIPP Goldfinger's scheme is truly ingenious, but I have some distaste for plots that depend on predicting how people will react. PAUL BAACK Gert Fröbe's Goldfinger is, for many, the prototypical Bond Villain. I'd argue that that honorific belongs to Joseph Wiseman's Dr. No, but Goldfinger has the advantage of being part of the best two lines of dialogue in the entire series (quoted elsewhere here on this page), a bit that cements it for most people. As a character, he's an enormous amount of fun, and almost a walking anthology of Ian Fleming prejudices. While not exactly grotesque, he's certainly homely; he's pudgy and untanned; he's a terrible dresser; he's a cheat at cards and golf; and, most importantly, he's non-English, most probably German, pretty much the worst thing one could be, in Fleming's book. Painting a pretty girl head-to-toe in gold paint bespeaks some monstrous sort of sexual deviance, here only hinted at. Fröbe plays him with a sort of avuncular jollity, except when the business gets down to either gold, or killing people. He undertakes these pursuits with heavy seriousness, and, luckily for the films audience, a large degree of ingenious imagination.
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