1964-1965: James Bond Blows Up
Under Terence Young, the first two James Bond films (Dr. No and From Russia With Love) were never intended to take the world over. Nay, they were diversions. Movies made from small budgets intended to make enough of a profit so that the next one would be financed. That changed when the films each made sizable amounts of money, and as such the next movie, Goldfinger, was given a substantially larger budget. It was because of this, and many other factors, that Guy Hamilton’s first film as James Bond’s director has become one of the universal choices for the best Bond film of all time.
This is not just because Goldfinger would become a template for all future Bond films (though it would), but also because it does it with such panache and perfection that it became the pinnacle. Though it was only the third, most of the next 19 Bond films had to pass one test: how does it stand up to Goldfinger? This is an apples and oranges comparison as far as a few films are concerned, but most all would follow the Goldfinger formula.
We open with a pre-credits sequence which has absolutely nothing to do with freaking anything, but that would become part of what makes Goldfinger so great. Essentially the following happens: Bond emerges from the depths of a lake, blows up a random building real good, begins to seduce a woman in a towel then electrocutes after throwing him in the bathtub. Minimal context is given for any of this, then cue credits and Shirley Bassey belting out the iconic theme song. Before Goldfinger, James Bond was relatively rooted in reality. As soon as the opening titles to Goldfinger roll, you know some rules are about to be broken.
The main plot begins soon after. German gold smuggler Auric Goldfinger (with a name like that, what else would you do?) is being monitored by Bond and his CIA cohort Felix Leiter. After an episode playing cards, Goldfinger has Bond attacked and Jill Masterson, Bond’s latest conquest, covered in gold paint, thus suffocating her. The message is sent: Goldfinger is a powerful man who will not let Bond get in the way of his operation.
Goldfinger gave us a James Bond who was always the smartest man in the room, ability to get out of any situation using either his strength, intelligence, wit or persuasiveness. He may not always seem to have the upper hand, but he always knows how to get there. This is best shown in the famous scene where Bond is strapped to a gold table with a laser slowly working its way up to Bond’s hoo-hah. This is a situation where Bond has no way out, as Goldfinger does not expect him to talk, but instead it seems he expects him to die or something. Bond is not deterred, as he convinces Goldfinger to let him loose.
Essentially the James Bond films are most always about ridiculous villains with ridiculous schemes and the ridiculous things Bond must do to thwart them. Bond villains usually want to take over/blow up the world in one way or another, but in a way Goldfinger’s plan is even more insane: he intends to rob Fort Knox of all its gold. It’s absurd, of course, but it’s the exact kind of grand idea that the spy genre would become famous for, and you have Goldfinger to thank for that.
Oh, and the women, of course. Goldfinger gives us the “Bond Girl” that had adolescent boys giggling their shorts off: Pussy Galore. For years to come she would become the most famous Bond girl for reasons beyond her name. James Bond always gets what he wants, and women are no exception. Ms. Galore resists Bond for most of the film (many speculate that she “plays for the other team”) but he uses his charm to convert her in more ways than one. In a way, Bond reminds me of a line said by Russell Brand’s character in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. As he looks at a woman towards that films end, he turns to Jason Segel and simply says “I’m going to have sex with her.” You know he will, and it’s the same with Bond. As soon as you see that look in his eye, you know he’s going to get what he wants.
Also: freaking Q. He first showed up in From Russia With Love to give Bond his attaché case, but in Goldfinger he comes completely out of his shell. From this point on a stop by Q’s lab would become James Bond film standard procedure, and those scenes would remain highlights right up until Q’s final appearance in Die Another Day with former Monty Python member John Cleese in the role.
Goldfinger put all the James Bond ingredients together perfectly, and for the first time. The villains were memorable (Goldfinger himself, along with hat-wielding Oddjob), the women were beautiful and the action exciting. The result was a goldmine (teehee), a box office smash which officially brought James Bond fully into the mainstream. The phenomenon was born.
This brings us to Thunderball, a 007 movie that isn’t bad by any stretch of the imagination, but one I have a hard time getting excited about. In the wake of Bondmania’s birth with Goldfinger, the new film attempted to fuse the over-the-topness of Goldfinger with the humanity of the first two films. No doubt this was a result of Terence Young’s return to the director’s chair. As a result, there are a few memorable sequences, but the entire film feels less than vital. SPECTRE returns to the scene, along with an eyepatch-sporting villain, but the whole plot never reaches true levels of originality. The opening sequence with Bond fighting a fake widow followed by his famous use of the jetpack make for some great stuff.
The main complaint is that it drags far more than the three previous films. The underwater sequences don’t exactly help as far as pacing is concerned, and at times it just seems a bit too… slow. That said, major complaints are few and far between. It’s still a good time, most of all, and it stands as an example of what happens when James Bond is suddenly on top of the world. Before Thunderball, James Bond was merely on the rise. Now, the series had already reached the peak.
At the time, moviegoers did not share my indifference towards Thunderball. Adjusted for inflation, more people went to see it in theaters than any other in the series. Goldfinger and Thunderball represent a transition in the early days of the series, the transition some series go through when the expectations suddenly reach a new high. Sean Connery even began to become uncomfortable as the most famous film hero in the world. This would all come to a head in You Only Live Twice, when Connery is driven to the edge of boredom. Soon the producers would be forced to fix what was not broken.
Next Week: Sean Connery’s first last stand, then George Lazenby’s one and only stand.
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