Goldfinger – “No Mr. Bond I expect you to die!”

Goldfinger – “No Mr. Bond I expect you to die!”

After the car crash, and after Tilly Masterson, Jill Masterson’s sister, is killed by Oddjob, Bond now is in Goldfinger’s control.   He finds himself strapped to a metal table, as Goldfinger is about to demonstrate his laser beam.  Here in the film, the laser beam is directed at the base of the table.  It then is guided to rise-up between Bond’s legs, into his crotch and eventually kill him.   In the book by Fleming, it was a table saw.

The book was published March 23, 1959, while the laser was not invented until 1960.   The first working laser was built on May 16, 1960, by Theodore H. Maiman at Hughes Research Laboratories based on the theoretical work of Charles Hard Townes and Arthur Leonard Schawlow.

Goldfinger – The LASER and “No Mr. Bond I expect you to die!”

The term laser came to be an  acronym for “Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.”   Again, EON Productions was clever at integrating a real-life happening, the invention of the laser, into this film which was being shot in 1963 for release in 1964.  And at the time, this was a very high-tech scene in Goldfinger!  We cannot think of another film using a laser before Goldfinger, so here is another first for EON Productions!

This scene is famous the world over for the laser, and for the dialogue: Bond: “ You expect me to talk?” Goldfinger – “No Mr. Bond I expect you to die!”

A couple of noteworthy facts:

  1. Notice that Goldfinger is again wearing something gold – the lapels of his jacket are gold!
  2. When they were filming this scene, of course, the laser was a post-production add-in – they weren’t really using a laser. Instead, to get the important visual of the metal being cut by the laser, one of the production staff was beneath the table with a blow-torch and was cutting through the metal, making Sean Connery genuinely nervous!
  3. Goldfinger reveals the three things he loves about gold: “All my life I’ve been in love with it’s color, its brilliance, its divine heaviness.”

It is another scene where Bond was to be killed by a more elaborate scheme than necessary.  But, it is burned into people’s memories (pun intended) as one of the best scenes from any Bond movie, even any spy movie.

And of course, Bond does survive this.  He convinces Goldfinger that he, Bond, is worth more alive than dead because of his potential knowledge of Operation Grand Slam.

This is another great Ken Adam set design and joins other spectacular sets in Goldfinger.

Goldfinger Reveals Operation Grand Slam Plan to Mob Bosses

Goldfinger reveals Operation Grand Slam to Mob Bosses

At Goldfinger’s Kentucky stud farm, Goldfinger reveals his plan to target Fort Knox to the American mobsters in attendance, who each ponied up $1 million in gold to participate in the plan.

The Set of Goldfinger’s Play Room

Ken Adam outdoes himself with this set, as it is a fabulous, richly wooded and paneled room.  There is a revolving pool table that reveals a control panel.   From it, Goldfinger controls enforced window shutters, can project a map of Fort Knox and more.  It even retracts the floor to reveal a 3D map of Fort Knox and the surrounding area.

One of our favorite James Bond sets.  As you watch this clip, notice the detail, the richness, the wealth this room reveals.   Our only gripe is the mobsters are made to look amateurish, and almost comical.  And this would not accurately represent the violent and unforgiving nature of mobsters in the United States.  They are more like Goldfinger than unlike Goldfinger and are not easily tricked or deceived.

Bond escapes from his cell in time to poke his head up from below the 3D model to overhear the Operation Grand Slam name.  Pussy Galore catches him.

Mr. Solo Wants Out of Operation Grand Slam – and the Mobsters Die

In the scene, Mr. Solo wants out of the deal, and Goldfinger excuses himself to take care of Mr. Solo, load his bricks of gold into the Lincoln so that Oddjob could drive Mr. Solo to the airport.   Of course, we wonder, was this going to be checked luggage or carry-on?!  In any event, we need not worry, as Oddjob will be driving Mr. Solo to his “pressing engagement,” as we will see a few clips from now.

In the meantime, Goldfinger’s henchmen,  gas the rest of the mob guys, killing them, so he could keep their gold as well.  As an aside, Goldfinger would have a lot of American mobsters after him after this little cross, and probably would never make it to Fort Knox!

You will notice again, here, Goldfinger is wearing a gold vest – keeping with his love of gold.

This scene also reveals how unfazed Goldfinger and his organization are with killing people.   He reveals here that there are 41,000 troops protecting Fort Knox.   Later, when Bond and Goldfinger are drinking a mint julep, the number 60,000 comes up.   Regardless, Goldfinger has no qualms about killing them all.  He loves only gold.

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