Goldfinger – Pre-Title Sequence – This, in Goldfinger, is exciting and mysterious.   It opens with a dark, night scene of some buildings then pans to the water.  In the water we see a bird, then Bond emerges and the bird turns out to be part of his scuba headgear – in case anyone was watching.  Yet, really, by the time he emerges if anyone was watching they’d just see the bird for a second or so – then they’d see Bond   But he gets ashore, then uses a gadget to shoot a grappling hook and rope up over the wall so he can climb.  A guard up there hears something, starts to walk to see what the noise might be.   Bond is quick!  He has already climbed the rope and knocks out the guard.

Next, with great pre-knowledge as to how to get in, he sneaks into one of the silos.  Once inside, the room is furnished nicely but has nitro barrels all lined up inside to which Bond attaches plastic explosives.  Then he sets the timer for 12:20, giving him about 8 minutes to get out of there (his watch said about 12:12.  He exits, jumps over a couple of walls, and removes the wet/dry suit to reveal he is dressed in a tux.  Nice!

Goldfinger Pre Title Sequence Grounded in some Reality!

This is impossible, right?  Uh, not really.  In 1941, there was a Dutch agent, Tazelaar, who was part of the Dutch resistance, and with British help, got ashore near The Hague.  Once ashore, he removed the wet suit to reveal an evening suit!  He infiltrated a Nazi party to try to extract other Dutch resistance fighters.   Listen to our podcast, How Real-World Events Make their Way into Spy Films for more detail on Tazelaar’s efforts.

Here Bond successfully blows up a drug lab in Central America (nothing to do with the Goldfinger plot).  He has some extra-curricular activity with his “unfinished business,” is attacked, but escapes leaving the attacker electrocuted.   “Shocking.  Positively shocking.”  He then heads to Miami for a vacation.

Notice that in the gun barrel sequence, Bob Simmons is still the agent that shoots towards us.   This is the last movie that they will use Simmons.   Thunderball puts Sean Connery as Bond in the gun barrel and from that point forward, it is Bond.  James Bond.

This Goldfinger – Pre-Title Sequence is very cool and very good.

This is EON Productions 3rd James Bond 007 film, based on Fleming’s 7th Bond novel.