Goldfinger
Dir: Guy Hamilton
1964
*****
Goldfinger is probably, by and large, the most popular James Bond adaptation so far. The debate continues but I don't think I've ever heard anyone say they didn't love it. Guy Hamilton took over directional duties from Terence Young after he was unfairly refused share of the films profits. Hamilton did a fine job but it was clear his vision was somewhat bigger than Young's. The production was far larger than the previous two films as were the characters. Hamilton also interjected an element of humour that was missing from the first couple of films and certainly from the novels. It's this introduction of humour in the series that has divided every Bond fans since that makes Goldfinger the most influential of the adaptations. It's clear that Goldfinger (the seventh of Ian Flemming's 007 novels) was made with a larger audience in mind, it's budget was more than the previous two films combined and the investment payed off. Richard Maibaum returned as script writer after working on the two previous films but Goldfinger is arguably his best adaption and the one he made most changes too. In the book, Goldfinger steals all the Gold from Fort Knox, something that would have taken far too long in real life. Maibaum rewrote this part so that Goldfinger would instead render the gold useless making his own gold more valuable. This was a clever rewrite that made much more sense and added a great twist to the story, however, not everyone agreed and Maibaum was replaced before being re-hired. Maibaum's brief replacement was Paul Dehn and although Dehn's script was rejected, his idea of having an opening action scene that would have no relevance to the actual film would be a reoccurring theme in the series. The bigger, better, faster ideology worked a treat and Goldfinger was a huge success for the series and the future of the franchise was secured. Goldfinger is among the most iconic of the Bond films, thanks to its stand out characters and classic scenes. Shirley Eaton's gold covered body sprawled across the bed has been described as "one of the most enduring images in cinematic history". Honor Blackman's Pussy Galore has been voted the fan's favorite Bond Girl repeatedly since '64 and Harold Sakata's Oddjob is the first great henchman of the series and a firm favorite among fans. Gert Frobe brought far more to the character of Goldfinger than Orson Welles probably would have done (in my opinion) and the famous 'I expect you to die" scene whereby he nearly cuts Bond in half with a laser (starting at the crotch) is considered a classic. Another big star of the film was of the four wheeled variety. Goldfinger represents the first film that saw Bond drive the iconic Aston Martin DB5, complete with oil slick dispenser, ejector seat and revolving licence plate (an idea conceived by Hamilton who acquired a number of parking tickets during filming). It also represents a huge step in product placement, nothing to boast about but at least the car was relevant as Bond did drive an Aston Martin in the books, although it was a DB Mark III rather than a DB5. It's not like he was drinking Smirnoff Vodka rather than a shaken (not stirred) Martini *ahem*. Sadly, author Ian Flemming died just before the film's release. He visited the set several times but he would never see the final cut of what is universally considered the best adaptation of his work to date