Goldfinger



"Bond: You expect me to talk?

Goldfinger: No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!"

This was the third James Bond film and is one of the most iconic of the series. Part of what made it so good is that it is a shining example of a Pragmatic Adaptation that changed the title villain's rather ridiculous plot to literally rob Fort Knox in Ian Fleming's original novel into a plan that feels honestly and believably ingenious (not to mention changing the book's rather blatant racism and sexism).

Has several famous Bond-movie scenes, including Goldfinger threatening to cut Bond in half with a laser, Bond's high-stakes golf game and the death of Goldfinger's traitorous employee Jill Masterson, who for helping Bond ends up with her neck broken, her naked body sprawled across her bed and painted gold.

This movie also gave the franchise its first Cool Car. In fact, one of the great virtues of the film is that the gadgets shown, such as the car and the personal tracer, are 40+ years old and they still look both believable and neat (and in the case of the GPS-esque tracer, are modern-day consumer goods).

Not to be confused with the ska band of the same name.

Do you expect me to talk?
"Goldfinger: Is that julep tart enough for you, Mr. Bond?"
 * Action Film Quiet Drama Scene: When Bond figures out Goldfinger's diabolical plan.
 * Affably Evil: Goldfinger.

"James Bond: My dear girl, there are some things that just aren't done, such as drinking Dom Perignon '53 above the temperature of 38 degrees Fahrenheit. That's just as bad as listening to the Beatles without earmuffs!"
 * Amazon Brigade: Pussy Galore's Flying Circus.
 * Antagonist Title
 * Badass in a Nice Suit: Oddjob.
 * Battle Butler: Oddjob
 * The Big Board: The Fort Knox model Goldfinger shows off to the mobsters.
 * Big Red Button: The famous button under the stick shift in James Bond's car that activates the ejector seat.
 * Bizarre and Improbable Golf Game: "If that's his ball I'm Arnold Palmer."
 * Black Comedy Rape: Bond's martial arts sparring and wrestling with Pussy Galore before forcing himself upon her. It's thankfully subverted since she returns his kiss while they're still fully clothed, but it's still uncomfortable to watch.
 * Bling Bling Bang: Goldfinger's gold plated revolver, which he uses at Fort Knox and later in his own airplane.
 * Board to Death: Goldfinger and the mobsters who supplied his equipment needs.
 * Body Paint: Jill Masterson
 * Bond One-Liner: "Shocking"; "As you said, he had a pressing engagement."; "Where is Goldfinger?" "Playing his golden harp"; "Where's your butler friend [Oddjob]?" "He blew a fuse."
 * Bond Villain Stupidity: More or less averted. While Goldfinger does keep Bond alive, it's because he prefers keeping Bond under his thumb rather than MI-6 just sending another agent in Bond's place and wants to trick the good guys into thinking Bond is doing better than he actually is (in reality, had Bond not turned Pussy in the eleventh hour, Goldfinger almost certainly would have won). Goldfinger is also incredibly Genre Savvy for a Bond villain, opting not to underestimate Bond's craftiness.
 * Bulletproof Vest: An Q-Branch agent gives one a test of fire.
 * Ceiling Cling: Bond, to make a guard think he's escaped and ambush him.
 * Continuity Nod: Bond is told that his "attache case" has been irreparably damaged by Goldfinger's men, which he seems a bit affected by. It's easy to presume this is referring to the gadget-loaded briefcase he got in From Russia with Love, and he's realizing how screwed he is without it.
 * Continuous Decompression: After the window of Goldfinger's jet is shattered by a bullet.
 * Conveyor Belt O' Doom: Inversion when the laser beam moves toward Bond instead of the other way around.
 * Cool Car: Bond's Aston Martin DB5, with all of its cool gadgets.
 * Corrupt Corporate Executive: Goldfinger.
 * Cure Your Gays: In the book (and possibly the movie as well, it's never touched upon), Pussy is a Lipstick Lesbian until Bond's magic penis makes her reconsider.
 * Honor Blackman discussed this aspect in a 2006 AMC television special, "Bond Girls Are Forever". She thinks that Pussy only believed she was a lesbian because Goldfinger abused her pretty badly, and Bond's charm got her in touch with her actual heterosexuality.
 * Cut the Juice: The frequently-parodied scene where Bond is about to deal with his Wire Dilemma, whereupon a disposal technician steps over, calmly reaches under a panel on the bomb, and switches it off.
 * Deadly Gas: The Delta 9 nerve gas used to kill the gangsters and intended to kill the Fort Knox guards.
 * Dead-Man Switch: Bond tells Goldfinger that his death will cause another agent (008) to replace him.
 * Death by Sex: Jill Masterson, murdered by Oddjob on Goldfinger's orders after having sex with Bond. In the book,  dies because she had.
 * Dirty Communists: In the novel, Goldfinger is revealed to be working for SMERSH (a Soviet counterintelligence organization).
 * In the movie, Goldfinger obtains his dirty-bomb material from Red China, which views his scheme as an opportunity to create "economic chaos in the West".
 * Disney Villain Death: Kisch, thrown over a railing to his death by Oddjob.
 * gets sucked out of a plane before "playing his golden harp."
 * Distressed Dude: The scene where Bond is strapped down to a table with a laser beam slowly approaching his groin.
 * Double Entendre: "Shocking, positively shocking."
 * Also, Pussy Galore.
 * The Dragon: Oddjob
 * Dressing as the Enemy: After the army arrives, Goldfinger dresses himself as a U.S. soldier to escape.
 * Drop-Dead Gorgeous: Jill Masterson lying dead on the bed, painted gold. This is perhaps one of the franchise's most famous images.
 * Ejector Seat
 * Electrified Bathtub: Which even burned the actor, see below.
 * Every Car Is a Pinto: After a car drives over a cliff, it explodes in midair.
 * At the end, a plane immediately explodes upon contact with the ocean.
 * Evil Genius: Mr. Ling, the Chinese nuclear expert.
 * Fakeout Escape: Bond tricks the guard into thinking he's escaped, clings onto the ceiling, and then drops down behind him once the guard opens the door.
 * Five-Bad Band
 * The Big Bad: Goldfinger, natch.
 * The Dragon & The Brute: Oddjob
 * The Evil Genius: Mr. Ling
 * The Dark Chick: Pussy Galore
 * Mook Lieutenant: Mr. Kisch
 * Foreshadowing: Oddjob's statue-breaking and later neck breaking.
 * Frickin' Laser Beams: Torture device and door opener in one.
 * Getting Crap Past the Radar: The producers considered renaming Pussy "Kitty Galore", but decided the name wasn't much harmful. And then they took the censor out for dinner... (no, really)
 * It's rumored that Bond's response to her introduction was going to be "I know, but what's your name?"
 * Go-Karting with Bowser: Bond plays a round of golf with Goldfinger (who naturally, cheats). Bond doesn't exactly play fair, either.
 * Gold Makes Everything Shiny
 * Groin Attack: Just barely averted. How do you get Bond to stop cracking wise? Slowly inch a laser closer and closer to his manly parts.
 * The Guards Must Be Crazy: both played straight and subverted.
 * Heel Face Turn: Pussy Galore
 * Don't forget Jill Masterson early on.
 * Hero of Another Story: Bond's fellow 00 agent 008.
 * High Heel Face Turn: Pussy Galore, after being raped seduced by Bond.
 * Hoist by His Own Petard: Oddjob is electrocuted while holding his steel-bladed hat.
 * Hollywood Density: Bond uses two gold bars to break open the bomb and throws a gold bar at Oddjob.
 * Bond does seem to have some trouble lifting them.
 * And the scene in which Bond explains why stealing the gold would be impractical (following which Goldfinger explains his real plan) is probably the most famous aversion in cinema.
 * And also a nod to the book's plot, where it was really Goldfinger's plan. The screenwriters consciously changed it.
 * You might notice the cube resulted from the crushed Continental lacks wheels, and for something that'd be at least 2 tons (specially for the gold in the trunk), it barely makes a difference for the pick-up truck that receives it.
 * Implacable Man: Oddjob takes a thrown gold bar in the chest without flinching. In fact, the only time he appears to be even mildly uneasy in the film is when Bond attempts to use his own killer hat against him.
 * Impossibly Cool Weapon: Oddjob's razor-rimmed hat.
 * Improbable Weapon User: Oddjob and his razor-rimmed hat.
 * Incredibly Long Note: He loves GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLD!!!
 * Instant Sedation: Kisch uses a tranquilizer dart gun on a helpless Bond.
 * Intimidation Demonstration: Oddjob demonstrates his ability with his killer bowler hat early in the film, Foreshadowing the fight with Bond at the end.
 * It's Not Rape If You Enjoyed It: Bond and his Forceful Kiss of Pussy Galore is a mild example.
 * Just Between You and Me: Subverted and Inverted -- Goldfinger brags about his plan to his business partners, knowing that he's going to anyway and that it won't make the slightest bit of difference if he tells them. What Goldfinger doesn't realize is that Bond is listening in on his little presentation; however, Bond misinterprets Goldfinger's plan and thinks that.
 * Kick the Dog: In the novel, Goldfinger gives his cat to Oddjob for dinner after it 'accidentally' foils his plot to spy on Bond.
 * Large Ham: Gert Frobe set the standard for cartoonish supervillainy.
 * Locking MacGyver in the Store Cupboard: Bond is able to fool then KO a guard.
 * Looping Lines: All of Goldfinger's lines are dubbed, as Gert Frobe spoke very poor English. It's really an amazing job, and you'd never know just watching the film.
 * Magic Countdown: The nuclear Time Bomb in Fort Knox.
 * May-December Romance: Averted. Honor Blackman (Pussy Galore) is the oldest Bond girl.
 * Meaningful Name: Goldfinger's first name, Auric, is the Latin word for "gold".
 * Money Fetish: "This is gold, Mr. Bond. all my life I've been in love with its colour, its brilliance, its divine heaviness..."
 * Mook Lieutenant: Kisch. He isn't exactly The Dragon, but he's close.
 * Murphy's Bullet: When Tilly tries to kill Goldfinger.
 * My God, You Are Serious: Bond talking to Q about his car's ejector seat.
 * The Napoleon: In Fleming's novel, Goldfinger is both this and an Evil Redhead.
 * The Nasty Party: Goldfinger explaining his scheme to the gangsters and then killing them.
 * Nazi Gold: Bond uses it as bait during the golf game.
 * Neck Snap: How Oddjob kills Tilly Masterson.
 * Never Mess with Granny: The old lady working as a guard decides to get an MP 40 to shoot the Aston Martin (Alfred Hitchcock told Guy Hamilton it was his favorite scene).
 * Nice Hat: Nice Killer Hat. Just mind any wiring about.
 * No, Mr. Bond, I Expect You to Dine: Pussy Galore tells Bond he's Goldfinger's guest. Later, Goldfinger serves Bond a mint julep, explains his plan and has Pussy give him a tour. Trope namer, more or less.
 * Oh Crap: "Who said anything about removing it, Mr. Bond?" Also counts as a Wham! Line.
 * Oil Slick: One fo the gadgets in Bond's car.
 * One-Scene Wonder: Jill Masterson has 5 minutes of screentime, but due to an iconic death, is one of the most well-remembered elements of the series.
 * The old lady who pulls out and MP 40 and shoots at Bond's Aston Martin when he escapes from Goldfinger's henchmen.
 * Operation Blank: "Operation Grand Slam" is the name of Goldfinger's Evil Plan for Fort Knox, in both novel and film.
 * Pinball Protagonist: Aside from "convincing" Pussy to switch the gas canisters (and killing Oddjob), Bond actually has very little impact on the plot.
 * Pool Scene: Where Bond caught Goldfinger cheating at cards.
 * Pragmatic Adaptation: Over the original book.
 * Product Placement: By Aston Martin and Ford (who provided Tilly's Mustang and the Lincoln Continental which gets crushed). Averted when Guy Hamilton thought using the scene Bond's in the bathroom (and uses all he can to hide the "magic eyes") to showcase Gilette products was silly.
 * Punch-Punch-Punch Uh-Oh: Bond, while fighting Oddjob in the Fort Knox vault.
 * Punny Name: Pussy Galore. In the film this was supposed to be lampshaded, with Bond's response to her telling him her name being "I'm sure you are, but what's your name?" but this was considered likely to annoy the censors. Bond's incredulous "I must be dreaming" is lampshading enough.
 * There's also Goldfinger's first name; Auric.
 * Rape as Backstory: In the novel, Pussy Galore hints that's why she's not into men.
 * Reflective Eyes: Bond dodges an attack when he sees his attacker reflected in a woman's eyes.
 * Same Language Dub: Gert Frobe did not speak English, so he spoke phonetically and was dubbed over.
 * Sacrificial Lamb: Jill Masterson.
 * Scenery Porn: The drive through France and Switzerland. The book includes large sections describing the scenery.
 * Science Marches On: Jill's death by "skin suffocation" was based on an erroneous belief of the time. Basically, she wouldn't have suffocated as long as she could still breathe from her mouth or nose, as obvious as that sounds. Myth Busters also got in on the debunking.
 * And even Myth Busters got it wrong the first time, affirming the myth. Only after doctors contacted them did they do it again and get it right.
 * Sex Face Turn: Pussy Galore, with James Bond. In the book, Pussy was only faking at being a lesbian due to a history of sexual assault and a belief that there were no good men left in the world.
 * Slippery Skid: Caused by the Cool Car's oil slick device.
 * The Speechless: Oddjob.
 * Spiked Wheels: Originally used on the Aston Martin.
 * Spy Tux Reveal: The Trope Codifier.
 * Strapped to An Operating Table: Bond during the laser interrogation scene.
 * Suddenly Sexuality: Pussy Galore goes straight for Bond.
 * Take That: Bond finds time to slam The Beatles.

"James Bond: Do you expect me to talk?
 * Nine years later, Paul McCartney did the theme for Live and Let Die
 * Tap on the Head
 * Tech Marches On: Averted so far considering how the gadgets in this film have aged surprisingly well and still look believable and practical. For instance, the personal tracer looks about the right size that such a device might look right if made today and its hiding place in the heel of Bond's shoe still looks neat.
 * Thrown From the Zeppelin: Goldfinger's crushing response to a gangster's refusal to join him.
 * Time Bomb: The nuclear bomb in Fort Knox.
 * Tracking Device
 * Tranquillizer Dart: While Bond is helplessly strapped to a table, Kisch renders him unconscious with a tranquilizer dart pistol.
 * Treasure Room: The Fort Knox room full of gold bars.
 * Trope Codifier: Pick a Tuxedo and Martini Spy Fiction cliche -- chances are good that it was popularized by this movie.
 * This movie, more than From Russia with Love and certainly more than Dr. No, defined the aspects of a Bond movie especially with promoting Q and his arsenal of gadgets.
 * Tuckerization: Ian Fleming named Goldfinger after his neighbor.
 * Tuxedo and Martini: The Trope Codifier.
 * Unflinching Walk: Bond's reaction to the explosion at the start of the movie.
 * Victim Falls For Rapist: Bond and Jill Masterton, in the original book. In the film, Bond forcibly kisses her, and she becomes immediately willing.
 * "The Villain Sucks" Song: Shirley Bassey would like to remind you that Goldfinger does, in fact, love gold. A lot.
 * The Voiceless: Oddjob.
 * Wacky Wayside Tribe: Bond's infiltration and blowing up of a stash of "heroin-flavored bananas" at the start of the movie.
 * Watch the Paint Job: Bond's Aston Martin DB5 is ruined when Bond runs it into a brick wall.
 * Also, the Lincoln Continental put in a car crusher (the crew said everyone on set was silent at seeing such a brand new car getting destroyed, and during a screening of the dailies, the projectionist entered the room angry asking if they really did it).
 * We Have Ways of Making You Talk: Subverted. Goldfinger doesn't expect Bond to talk. He expects him to die.
 * Weaponized Car: The Aston Martin DB5, which was also Bond's first Weaponized Car. Its arsenal included Machine Guns, tyre-slashers, oil-slicks, a smokescreen, bullet-proof shield and rotating license plates.
 * What about the ejector seat?
 * Wire Dilemma: Subverted while Bond is trying to deactivate the nuclear bomb.
 * Would Hit a Girl: Or in the case of opening teaser, allow a girl to be hit by someone else. Even though Bond has no qualms about hurting women himself.
 * You Have No Chance to Survive:

Goldfinger: No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die! "