Car Movies

Goldfinger (1964) is the third spy film in the James Bond series, and the third to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It is based on the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. The film also stars Honor Blackman and Gert Fröbe. The film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, and was the first of four Bond films directed by Guy Hamilton. The story has Bond following gold smuggler Auric Goldfinger, who plans a nuclear detonation inside the Fort Knox gold depository.

The film was the first official Bond blockbuster and made cinematic history by recouping its production costs in record-setting time, despite a budget equal to that of the two preceding films combined. Goldfinger was also the first Bond film to use a pop star to sing the theme song during the titles, a hallmark that would follow for every Bond film since except On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

Filming

Principal photography on Goldfinger commenced on 20 January 1964 in Miami, Florida, at the Fontainebleau Hotel. Sean Connery never travelled to the United States during filming; his entire performance was filmed in Europe – primarily at Pinewood Studios where portions of the Fontainebleau were recreated in April 1964. Goldfinger’s estate was built at Pinewood. The scene in which Tilly Masterson attempts to snipe Goldfinger was filmed near the Pilatus Aircraft Factory, Stans and Furka pass in Switzerland. Other scenes set in the country were shot in Buckinghamshire during May 1964. The golf club scene was shot at Stoke Poges, while the car chase involving Bond’s Aston Martin and Goldfinger’s henchmen outside his Swiss lair was filmed at Black Park. Ian Fleming visited the set of Goldfinger, but he died a few months later in August 1964 shortly before it was released. Principal photography was completed later that month. The second unit filmed at Kentucky, and these shots were edited into scenes filmed at Pinewood.

To shoot Pussy Galore’s Flying Circus gassing the soldiers at Fort Knox, the pilots were only allowed to fly above 3000 feet. Hamilton recalled this was “hopeless”, and they flew at about 500 feet, “and the military went absolutely ape”. For security reasons, the filmmakers were not allowed to film inside the United States Bullion Depository, though exterior photography was permitted. All sets for the interiors of the building were designed and built from scratch at Pinewood Studios. The filmmakers had no clue as to what the depository looked like, so “we [the crew] decided to let our imaginations run wild”. Ken Adam’s idea behind the design was seeing gold stacked upon gold behind iron bars. Harry Saltzman disliked the design’s resemblance to a prison, but Hamilton liked it enough that it was built. The comptroller of Fort Knox later sent a letter to Adam and the production team, complimenting them on their imaginative depiction of the vault. United Artists even had irate letters from people wondering “how could a British film unit be allowed inside Fort Knox?” Adam recalled, “In the end I was pleased that I wasn’t allowed into Fort Knox, because it allowed me to do whatever I wanted.”