GOLDFINGER (1964, UK, 110m, PG) ****½
Action, Crime, Thriller
dist. United Artists; pr co. Eon Productions; d. Guy Hamilton; w. Richard Maibaum, Paul Dehn (based on the novel by Ian Fleming); pr. Albert R. Broccoli, Harry Saltzman; ph. Ted Moore (Technicolor | 1.66:1 (Europe); 1.85:1 (USA)); m. John Barry; ed. Peter R. Hunt; pd. Ken Adam; ad. Peter Murton.
cast: Sean Connery (James Bond), Gert Fröbe (Goldfinger), Honor Blackman (Pussy Galore), Shirley Eaton (Jill Masterson), Tania Mallet (Tilly Masterson), Harold Sakata (Oddjob), Bernard Lee (‘M’), Martin Benson (Solo), Cec Linder (Felix Leiter), Austin Willis (Simmons), Lois Maxwell (Moneypenny), Bill Nagy (Midnight), Michael Mellinger (Kisch), Peter Cranwell (Johnny), Nadja Regin (Bonita), Richard Vernon (Colonel Smithers), Burt Kwouk (Mr. Ling), Desmond Llewelyn (‘Q’), Mai Ling (Mei-Lei), Varley Thomas (Swiss Gatekeeper), Margaret Nolan (Dink).
The third James Bond action thriller set the template for the rest of the series. Here, special agent 007 (Connery) comes face to face with Auric Goldfinger (Frobe), one of the most notorious villains of all time, and now he must outwit and outgun the powerful tycoon to prevent him from cashing in on a devious scheme to raid Fort Knox — and obliterate the world’s economy. Frobe is the most memorable Bond villain, whilst Sakata, as Oddjob, is the series’ best henchman, Blackman makes a feisty femme fatale and the Aston Martin DB5 is the definitive Bond car. Then there is Shirley Bassey’s dramatically sung theme tune that set the standard for many more to come, whilst Ken Adam’s set design for Fort Knox is hugely impressive. The action-packed film has so many iconic moments that they disguise some of the limitations of the production, such as Hamilton’s sometimes loose direction. Nevertheless, with tongue now firmly in cheek, it remains the best remembered of Connery’s tenure as Bond. Followed by THUNDERBALL (1965).
AA: Best Effects, Sound Effects (Norman Wanstall)