Goldfinger: The James Bond Classic

Sean Connery's Bond on DVD

As far as I'm concerned and I'm not alone, there was only one James Bond. Other actors may come and go but it was Sean Connery who set the scene and developed the character for others to follow.

The classic movie

Although Goldfinger wasn't the first time he had played everyone's perfect secret agent, this film is the one that truly became a classic; it had all the right ingredients, mixed to perfection.

So right for its era

It was released in 1964, the time of the Beatles, Carnaby Street, mini-skirts and the swinging sixties. It was also a time when it was perfectly possible to give an attractive female character the name of Pussy Galore. (I saw this film when I was about ten years old and just thought it was a cute name but I remember my dad and my Uncle Brian sniggering!)

The most famous car

The film also introduced what I believe to be the world's most famous car; the Aston Martin DB5 that was superbly equipped with everything a good secret agent requires - bullet-proof everything, machine guns, smoke screens and even the famous ejector seat.

As soon as we the audience knew about the ejector seat we knew we were in for some fun. Forget the Back to the Future DeLorean and the Batmobile, this was the car and almost everyone I know who was a child in the sixties owned a model version.

Folklore

After the film had been released, there were words and myths that entered British (and probably other) society. My dad had a trials car which he painted gold and had a small decal of a single digit so we naturally referred to the car as Goldfinger.

People really believed that it was possible for someone to die if the body was painted all over (a beautiful girl is painted entirely in gold paint in the film and expires because her skin 'can't breathe'.)

A must for the classic movie collection

I'm not actually a James Bond fan.

I've seen many of the films and found them entertaining but haven't wanted to watch them again.

This one is different because it is the essential Bond that paved the way for future movies - it's also great fun.

James Bond meets the Aston for the first time

Goldfinger typifies its era in many ways because, looking back, it sometimes seems that people (well, men) were obsessed with two things in those days - girls and cars. (Is it really different today?)

Back in those days, things could be more literal and women portrayed in away that they wouldn't deem suitable today. Despite this, it was a time when many women made huge amounts of money simply by being attractive and willing to be seen in various poses. There were those who said that this was 'exploitation of women' but to me,considering the fees that these girls were getting just by being photographed, it was the men who were being exploited.

I'd like to draw your attention to an article I wrote about the use of attractive young women in the advertising business - especially when advertising cars and automotive products.

You can read the article here.

Not a brilliant quality photograph but those orange legs poking out from under the car are my dad's as he fixes our own 'goldfinger'.