Goldfinger: Film – Trivia- Theodore Bikel and Titos Vandis were both screen tested for the title role of the villain Goldfinger. Both their screen tests can be seen on the DVD Ultimate Edition.
- Although many of the locations in the film are American, Sean Connery never set foot in America during filming. All scenes where he’s apparently in America were shot at Pinewood Studios, London.
- Sean Connery hurt his back during the fight sequence with Oddjob in Fort Knox. The incident delayed filming and some say that Connery used the injury to get a better deal out of the producers for the next 007 film.
- The producers had to pay for the Aston Martin, but after the success of the film, both at the box office and for the company, they never had to spend money on a car again.
- To remove the gold paint from all over her body, Shirley Eaton was scrubbed down by the wardrobe mistress and the make-up girl, and then had to sweat off the remaining gold in a number of Turkish baths.
- Body count: 62
- The various revolving license plate numbers for James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5 were 4711-EA-62 (France), LU 6789 (Switzerland) and BMT 216A (UK).
- Bond’s near castration by laser beam was originally supposed to be a buzzsaw until it was decided that a spinning blade was overly dramatic.
- Goldfinger wears yellow or a golden item of clothing in virtually every scene. In the one that he appears not to – in which he wears a US Army Major General’s uniform – he carries a golden revolver.
- Harry Saltzman and Cubby Broccoli wanted to cast Gert Fröbe after seeing him in a German thriller, Es geschah am hellichten Tag (1958). In that film, Frobe played a psychopathic serial killer.
- Sean Connery never traveled to the United States to film this film. Every scene in which he appears to be in the USA was filmed in Pinewood Studios outside London. This explains why Bond flips a light switch down to discover the golden corpse of Jill, as English light switches are generally turned on by flicking them down instead of up.
- The Ford Motor Company happily supplied a Lincoln Continental for the car compactor scene in exchange for featuring their new model Ford Mustang in the Swiss mountain driving sequence. During the crushing of the Lincoln, the crew remained totally silent, in awe of what they were doing.
- Aston Martin were initially reluctant to part with two of their cars for the production.
- A thermos with a built-in hand grenade was one of the accessories planned for the Aston Martin.
- Cec Linder was the only actor from the cast who was actually in Florida for the Miami sequences. Sean Connery was in the midst of shooting of Alfred Hitchcock’s Marnie (1964) and was unable to be on the Goldfinger (1964) set at the time.
- Pussy Galore’s Flying Circus – supposedly comprised solely of women
o was actually made up of men wearing blonde wigs. - The budget was more than the budgets for the first two Bond films combined.
- Producers Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli were so determined to get Honor Blackman for the part of Pussy Galore that they had the actress’s ability to perform judo written into the script.
- Gert Fröbe had serious reservations about Goldfinger using nerve gas to get rid of his opponents. Frobe felt that with him being a German, this scene would have Nazi concentration camp implications.
- James Bond creator Ian Fleming borrowed the notion of someone being suffocated by being covered in gold paint from the horror film Bedlam (1946).
- Honor Blackman is the oldest ever Bond Girl; she was thirty seven years of age at the time of filming.
- Vehicles featured in the film included the most famous of all the James Bond cars, the silver birch Aston Martin DB5 which would return for Thunderball (1965); Tilly Masterson’s white 1965 Ford Mustang convertible, the first appearance of this make in a film; a yellow and black 1937 Rolls Royce Phantom III Sedance de Ville, Goldfinger’s 12 cylinder made-of-gold car weighing 7000 lb (n.b. not a Phantom 337 model); a Hiller UH-12E4; black Mercedes-Benz 180, 190 and 220 models which pursue 007; a Ford Country Squire station wagon; Ford military pickup truck; a Lockheed C-140 Jetstar piloted by Pussy Galore; a Piper Cherokee PA-28; a 1964 Lincoln Continental convertible sedan and a Ford Ranchero (delivery vehicle), both used by Oddjob; another Lincoln Continental and a 1964 Ford Thunderbird ridden by Felix Leiter and his CIA partner.
- First appearance of a laser beam in a film.
- First opening credits sequence to show the actor playing James Bond. This is by utilizing footage from the first two James Bond films Dr. No (1962) and From Russia with Love (1963). This technique would be repeated in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969). The first time an image of the actor playing James Bond would be part of the actual title sequence itself (i.e. not by way of footage edited into it) would not occur until The Spy Who Loved Me (1977).
- During the opening titles sequence, all excerpts are scenes from this film except some footage from the From Russia with Love (1963) helicopter chase sequence and the Crab Key explosion from Dr. No (1962). All these scenes in the opening titles are projected onto the gilded body of Margaret Nolan.
- The Miami Hotel room number which Felix Leiter was staying in was Room No. 119. It’s telephone number was 879 432.
- Sean Connery’s first day of filming was 19 March 1964 at Stage D, Pinewood Studios for shooting of the South American El Scorpio Nightclub opening sequence.
- The opening titles sequence featuring a gilded girl runs for longer screen time than the actual shots in the film in which the golden girl appears.
- The note that James Bond writes whilst spying on the Operation Grandslam speech says “OO7 to C-I-A. AERIAL NERVE GAS PRECEDES DAWN RAID FORT KNOX”.
- Cameo: [Bob Simmons] The series regular stuntman is the actor appearing as James Bond in the opening gun barrel sequence. The same footage was used for the first three James Bond films, the others being Dr. No (1962) and From Russia with Love (1963).
- Nadja Regin (Bonita the nightclub dancer) previously appeared in From Russia with Love (1963) as Kerim Bey’s girl.
- Gert Fröbe spoke very little English, so Michael Collins dubbed his voice. Director Guy Hamilton instructed him to speak quickly which would assist the looping. A line in the film says of Goldfinger: “He’s a Brit, but doesn’t sound like it.” Due to the dubbing, this is not accurate. In the Switzerland factory scene, Fröbe’s mouth does not move, thereby making the dubbing obvious. Reportedly though, Fröbe was acting in some English which reduces the awareness of the dubbing. In the film’s trailer, however, Fröbe’s own voice is heard when Goldfinger tells James, “Choose your next witticism carefully, Mr. Bond, it may be your last,” and when meeting with the mobsters, when he says, “Except crime!”
- Auric Goldfinger’s 3D Model Map used for his Operation Grandslam is now housed at the actual Fort Knox and is permanently on exhibition.
- A 24-hour guard was placed on the Fort Knox set at Pinewood Studios so that pilferers would not steal the gold bar props. The filmmakers had wanted to film interiors at the actual Fort Knox but were declined due to security reasons.
- Cameo: [Alf Joint] The stuntman played the henchman in the opening sequence due to the original actor not being able to do the role at the last minute. This was because he was a cat-burglar and had just been arrested. Joint was burnt on the leg by a smoldering coil whilst filming this pre-credits sequence.
- The recreation of the Fort Knox repository at Pinewood Studios was incredibly accurate considering no one involved in the film had been inside the real location. A letter to the production from the Fort Knox Controller congratulated Ken Adam and his team on the recreation.
- Albert R. Broccoli once named this film along with The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and From Russia with Love (1963) as his three favorite James Bond films, according to an interview with the Hollywood Reporter’s Robert Osborne on 12 April 1982.
- The sign on Ft. Knox bears the name “Gen. Russhon”. Charles Russhon was the technical advisor for the film.
- Margaret Nolan (Dink) also appears in the opening credits sequence.
- Pussy Galore introduces herself to Bond, who replies “I must be dreaming.” The original script had Bond replying “I know you are, but what’s your name?” This was deemed too suggestive.
- In the Ian Fleming novel, Pussy Galore is a lesbian, which is why she gives Bond the cold shoulder to start with. She was named after Fleming’s pet octopus. The octopus also inspired the title of the James Bond short story and then film Octopussy (1983).
- The villain’s first name, Auric, is an adjective meaning ‘of gold’ (from the Latin word for gold, ‘aurum’).
- In the original cut of the film, the bomb’s timer was stopped at 003, explaining Bond’s line about “three more clicks.” It was later changed to 007 for obvious reasons. However, this produced a continuity gaffe as James Bond says “Three more ticks and Mr. Goldfinger would have hit the jackpot.”
- Honor Blackman quit her role as Cathy Gale on “The Avengers” (1961) to appear in Goldfinger. A 1965 episode of “The Avengers” (1961) made sly reference to this by having John Steed receive a postcard from Cathy Gale – sent from Fort Knox.
- Despite her impressive film debut as Tilly, this was model Tania Mallet’s only major film appearance. She had previously tested for the Tatiana Romanova part in From Russia with Love (1963).
- After their golf match, 007 follows Goldfinger to the airport. The map on the scanner clearly shows Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England.
- Look for a very young Garry Marshall (the successful future producer/director) as one of the American gangsters gathered to hear about “Project Grand Slam.”
- Ian Fleming got the name “Goldfinger” from his hatred of Hungarian modernist architect Erno Goldfinger. Among other things Erno Goldfinger designed London’s Trellick Tower, built in 1968.
- As with many car shots in films, the sun visors have been removed from Bond’s Aston Martin, but the mounting holes were not covered and they are visible on the in car shots above the windscreen.
- Goldfinger was intended to be lighter in tone and less political than the first two Bond films. It was released in the UK and USA the same year.
- As with the first two James Bond films, creator and author Ian Fleming visited the set during April 1964. He visited D Stage at Pinewood Studios where they were filming the UK set of the Fontainebleu Hotel pool scene. Sadly, he died a little less than a month before the film’s release on 12th August 1964.
- Cameo: [Michael G. Wilson]: future Bond producer as one of the technicians at the Kentucky airfield.
- Worried Studio Executives from United Artists considered changing the name of Pussy Galore to Kitty Galore.
- Terence Young, the director of the first two James Bond films, worked on the film during the very early stages of pre-production, including early drafts of the screenplay. However, an agreement could not be reached regarding the terms of his contract, and he left the production.
- The name Pussy Galore was not included on any trading cards during the film’s original release as they were aimed at youth. However, later released cards such as those as part of the “007 Spy Files” in 2002 do specify the name Pussy Galore.
- Harold Sakata burnt his hand when reaching for his hat during the Fort Knox bars and fireworks sequence. He said that director Guy Hamilton didn’t say cut so he kept on acting.
- Equipment and gadgetry was developed for the Aston Martin car which was not used in the finished film. This included: Front and back over-riders for jamming other vehicles; a weapon’s tray under the driver’s seat; a headlights chamber containing triple-spiked nail clusters for firing at enemies, a radio telephone inside the driver’s door paneling, and a thermos with a built-in hand grenade.
- “Goldfinger” was the seventh and longest of the Ian Fleming James Bond novels at 270 pages. It was written at ‘Goldeneye’, Jamaica during January and February of 1958. Its working title was ‘The Richest Man In The World” and it was first published on 23 March 23 1959.
- This won the first Academy Award for a James Bond film. It was for Best Sound Effects and it was won by Norman Wanstall. Thunderball (1965) won a Special Visual Effects Oscar the following year and producer Albert R. Broccoli was awarded the Irving Thalberg Award in 1982. Ironically, the gilded Oscar statuette and the gilded girl in the film have such an uncanny resemblance making Goldfinger fittingly the first Bond film to receive an Oscar.
- A specially designed “gold finger” piece of jewelery was designed for Honor Blackman. British Designer Dipples designed the gold fingered piece of jewelery for the premiere and the star’s promotional tour for the film.
- Toy car manufacturer Corgi manufactured a special miniature Aston Martin DB 5 car for Prince Charles who was aged 15-16 at the time. Corgi then produced Aston Martin James Bond toy cars for decades after the release of the film _Goldfinger_ . A 30th Anniversary Edition Goldfinger Aston Martin DB 5 toy car was released in 1994 by Corgi.
- The film earned back its production costs outlay of $3 million in just two weeks.
- The typeface of “Pussy Galore’s Flying Circus” on the banner is the same as that on Monty Python’s Flying Circus. The logo emblem had a red airplane on a yellow background shaped like a louvered shell stating Blue Grass Airfield and Pussy Galore’s Flying Circus. The badge also states Frills, Spills and Free Flights.
- The exchange between Bond and his caddy about Goldfinger’s golf ball (“If that’s his original ball, I’m Arnold Palmer.”) had the caddy standing on the ball in the novel. This is switched so Bond hid the ball for the film as Harry Saltzman thought it would give Bond a more cheeky image.
- The song “Goldfinger”, rewritten as “Gold Label”, was featured in a long-running series of cigarette commercials.
- The aircraft (which has a profile similar to a Boeing 747) that transports Goldfinger and his car out of England is actually an Aviation Traders ATL-98 Carvair, which was a heavily modified Douglas DC-4. The 747 didn’t make its first flight until 1969 but the Carvair entered service in 1962 (two years before Goldfinger).
- Tilly Masterson’s Ford Mustang was supposedly the first appearance by a Mustang in a major motion picture. The Mustang was introduced in April of 1964 and Goldfinger was released in December. Ford supplied many cars to the film including the CIA agents’ Thunderbird, all of Goldfinger’s goons cars, and the Lincoln Continental that is crushed.
- First appearance of the Q-Branch workshop and its gadget testing gags.
- Shirley Eaton underwent two hours of make-up application which involved being gild painted to become a gold painted corpse. A doctor was on set at all times in fear of possible skin suffocation. Her shots lasted less than five minutes in the finished film and the filming of them was shot quickly, wrapped in a morning’s work.
- The producers wanted Orson Welles to play Auric Goldfinger, but Welles was too expensive. Then Gert Fröbe began arguing over his salary (he wanted 10% from the film’s earnings), prompting the producers to wonder whether Welles would have been cheaper after all.
- The first Bond film to be shown on U.S. commercial TV, on Sunday, 17 September 1972, earning the highest Nielsen ratings for a single film on TV up to that time. 49% of the nation’s viewers tuned in that night, and ABC-TV, which showed the film, would retain the exclusive commercial U.S. TV rights to the Bond series for the next 28 years.
- The golf scenes in the film were shot at the Stoke Poges Golf Club in England, not far from Pinewood Studios. There is now a James Bond themed bar at the golf course. The interest in golf developed by Sean Connery is said to have spawned during this filming.
- Jill Masterson (Shirley Eaton) dies of “skin suffocation” by being coated in gold, a complication that, despite popular belief, has no basis in fact. The belief depends on the incorrect supposition that respiration occurs, at least in part, through the skin, a fallacy that has been discredited in scientific circles since the Renaissance. Despite periodic debunking in the popular media (especially noteworthy is a 1978 column of the syndicated newspaper feature, “The Straight Dope”, and a 2003 episode of the Discovery Channel series, “MythBusters” (2003)), a widespread belief in the myth of “skin suffocation” still exists. The myth was further bolstered by rumors that Shirley Eaton had actually died on set from asphyxiation due to the gold paint.
- Banned in Israel for many years after Gert Fröbe revealed he had been a member of the Nazi Party. The ban was lifted after a Jewish family came forward to praise Fröbe for protecting them from persecution during World War II.
- Milton Reid lobbied for the role of Oddjob.
- Jack Lord was approached to return as CIA agent Felix Leiter, but he declined. He had played him in Dr. No (1962). The role was recast, beginning a succession of different actors in the role (only David Hedison would play the role more than once). In _Goldfinger_ , Austin Willis was originally cast as Felix Leiter and Cec Linder as Simmons. However, they were asked to swap parts shortly before production.
- The registration number of Goldfinger’s car is AU 1.
- After the film was released, rumors circulated that Shirley Eaton had actually died on set, owing to the misconception that the gold paint caused asphyxiation.
- The original choice for the spy car of the film was not the Aston Martin DB5 but an E-Type Jaguar, which cost half as much. The E-Type Jaguar was a car model actually driven by production designer Ken Adam. Jaguar declined and the producers went to Aston Martin’s David Brown. He gave them two production prototypes of the newly released Aston Martin DB5. One was used for straight driving and the other was for adding various gadgets and features by Ken Adam.
- The original choice for the spy car of the film was not the Aston Martin DB5 but an E-Type Jaguar, which cost half as much. The E-Type Jaguar was a car model actually driven by production designer ‘Ken Adam” . Jaguar declined and the producers went to Aston Martin’s David Brown. He gave them two production prototypes of the newly released Aston Martin DB5. One was used for straight driving and the other was for adding various gadgets and features by Ken Adam.
- Sean Connery drove an Aston Martin DB5 down the famous Parisian promenade of the Champs-Elysees for the French Premiere of the film. For the occasion, sixty women were gilded in gold like the Shirley Eaton character of the film. One woman mobbed Connery and got into the car. After this incident, Connery stopped attending James Bond premieres.
- Sales of the Aston Martin DB5 increased by fifty per cent after the release of the film. The Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) featured the Lotus Esprit and sales would also increase for that car after the film premiered.
- In the original James Bond novel “Goldfinger”, the car driven by Bond is not an Aston Martin DB5 but an earlier model, an Aston Martin DB3. There were significantly less gadgets and features in this make. All James Bond had were reinforced bumper guards and a secret compartment for a Colt 45 pistol.
- The Aston Martin was originally supposed to release tacks to puncture the villains’ tires. But the idea was discarded after the producers worried that children would start putting tacks in the road.
- Honor Blackman was the first Bond girl actress with a prior acting career.
- The title song is the first of three title songs sung by Shirley Bassey for Bond films, the others being title songs for Diamonds Are Forever (1971) and Moonraker (1979). This song was the first James Bond title song to crack the Billboard Top 10, peaking at #8 in February 1965.
- The role of Oddjob was the first screen role for weightlifter and professional wrestler Harold Sakata. It was such a success that it started a second career in films, television and commercials. For some of these appearances, he would be billed as “Harold ‘Oddjob’ Sakata”.
- The part of Jill Masterson was initially offered to Shirley Anne Field, who turned it down.
- In the original end title credits, which featured the famous “James Bond will return in…” teaser, the next film advertised was On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969). However, when the producers began pre-production, they were unable to secure the Swiss locations needed for the film and decided to make Thunderball (1965) instead. The end title teaser was later changed to advertise “Thunderball”.
- In order to simulate the sound of crumpling metal in the car compactor, sound effects editor Norman Wanstall used the sound of crumpling beer cans.
- The idea of the Aston Martin’s revolving number plates came from director Guy Hamilton who had just been frustrated at receiving a parking ticket.
- When she was wearing the gold paint, Shirley Eaton had her stomach left bare to let her skin breathe.
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