Auric Goldfinger
| Auric Goldfinger | |
|---|---|
| James Bond character | |
 | |
| First appearance | Goldfinger (1959 novel) |
| Last appearance | 007 Legends (2012 video game) |
| Created by | Ian Fleming |
| Portrayed by | Gert Fröbe |
| Voiced by |
|
| In-universe information | |
| Full name | Auric Goldfinger |
| Gender | Male |
| Affiliation |
|
| Classification | Villain (Former; regular) |
| Henchmen | Oddjob Pussy Galore Jill Masterson Mei-Lei |
Auric Goldfinger is a fictional character and the main
In 2003, the
Auric Goldfinger was played by German actor Gert Fröbe. Fröbe, who did not speak English well, was dubbed in the film by Michael Collins, an English actor.[4] In the German version, Fröbe dubbed himself back again.
Goldfinger was banned in Israel after it was revealed that Fröbe had been a member of the Nazi Party. However, he left the party before the outbreak of World War II. After several years, the ban was lifted, as it was found that Fröbe likely saved the lives of two Jews by hiding them in his basement during the war.
Novel biography
In the novel, Auric Goldfinger is a 42-year-old from
Goldfinger's name was borrowed from Ian Fleming's neighbour in his
Following naturalisation as a British citizen in
Goldfinger is obsessed with gold, going so far as to keep a yellow-bound copy of an erotic novel in his nightstand and have his lovers painted head to toe in gold so that he can make love to gold. (He leaves an area near the spine unpainted, but painting this area also is what kills
When Goldfinger first meets Bond in
Goldfinger is also an avid golfer, but is known at his club for being a smooth cheater there, also. When Bond contrives to play against Goldfinger with $10,000 at stake, he out-cheats Goldfinger by switching the latter's Dunlop 1 golf ball with a Dunlop 7 he had found while playing. Goldfinger loses the final hole and the match for playing a ball that does not belong to him.
In both the novel and film, Goldfinger is aided in his crimes by his manservant Oddjob, a monstrously strong Korean who ruthlessly eliminates any threat to his employer's affairs.
Goldfinger is the owner of "Enterprises Auric A.G." in Switzerland, maker of metal furniture which is purchased by many airlines, including Air India. Twice a year, Goldfinger drives his vintage Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost car from England to Enterprises Auric. Bond learns that Goldfinger makes dead drops of gold bars for SMERSH along the way, and that his car's bodywork is 18-carat (75%), solid white gold under the ploy that the added weight is armour plating. Once at Enterprises Auric, the bodywork is stripped off, melted and made into airplane seats for a company that Enterprises Auric is heavily invested in. The plane(s) are then flown to India where the seats are melted down again into gold bars and sold for a much higher rate—100 to 200 per cent profit.
Operation Grand Slam
In the novel, Goldfinger captures Bond and threatens to cut him in half with a
Bond wakes to find that Goldfinger is going to take him up on his offer after all, and makes him his prisoner and secretary. While working at this job, Bond discovers that Goldfinger is plotting to rob the
Goldfinger plans to contaminate the water supply at Fort Knox using the
Bond foils Goldfinger's plan by writing a note to his American colleague
Later, Goldfinger and his henchmen learn from SMERSH who Bond is and determine to take him with them in defecting to the Soviet Union. They pose as doctors to incapacitate crew and passengers (including Bond) with drugged inoculations. Then they hijack the aircraft and load Goldfinger's three-ton personal bullion hoard onto it. The hijacked airplane is piloted by three German ex-Luftwaffe pilots who work for Goldfinger. Oddjob meets his end when he is sucked through an airliner window after Bond pierces it with a knife. Bond and Goldfinger engage in a brief struggle, during which Bond is seized by a violent rage for the first time in his life, strangling Goldfinger to death with his bare hands. Bond then turns to the pilots and forces the airplane to turn back from its intended flight path, causing it to ditch in the ocean after running out of fuel. The weight of Goldfinger's gold causes the airplane to sink rapidly, taking his body and his pilots down with it. Only Bond and Pussy Galore, both wearing lifejackets, appear in the ocean and are soon picked up, as the only survivors.
Criticism of novel's plan and changes made in filmed version
After publication of the novel, the details of "Operation Grand Slam" were questioned, with critics noting it would have taken hours, if not days, to remove $15 billion from Fort Knox, during which the U.S. Army would have inevitably intervened. The issue of getting every soldier on the base to drink the poisoned water without an alarm was also raised. A final problem was the "clean" atomic bomb, tactical or not, which in all likelihood would have annihilated the vault instead of breaking it open. The novel itself has a scene where Bond points out to Goldfinger several reasons why the plan could not possibly work, and Goldfinger responds only with a vague assurance that he has prepared solutions for these problems.
Consequently, the filmed version of the novel altered the details of the plan. Although Bond initially believes that Goldfinger intends to steal the bullion, he soon realizes that the true plan is to set off a Chinese-supplied dirty bomb within the vault. The explosion will irradiate the gold and render it unusable for decades, crippling the gold standard–based economy and greatly increasing the value of Goldfinger's personal bullion holdings. During this conversation, Bond points out the logistical flaws in the theft as set out in the original novel.
Film biography
In the film, Goldfinger is a successful businessman, owning many properties throughout the world, including "Auric Enterprises, AG" in Switzerland and a stud-farm in Kentucky called "Auric Stud". However, Goldfinger's real business is that of internationally smuggling gold, using the method of having a car (precisely, a Rolls-Royce Phantom III) built with gold body castings and transporting it via airplane before having the bodywork re-smelted once it arrives at its destination. After Goldfinger's business affairs come under suspicion from the Bank of England, Bond is sent to investigate.
In the film, Felix Leiter says that Goldfinger is "British, but he doesn't sound like it"; however, this may simply mean he possesses British citizenship, as by his accent and red-blond hair he is probably German by birth. Fröbe was chosen to play the villain because producers Saltzman and Broccoli had seen his performance in a German thriller titled
In the film, Goldfinger, an avid golfer, reveals a fascination with
Goldfinger's plan is to detonate a small
With Fort Knox safe, Bond is invited to the White House for a meeting with the President. However, with his pilot Pussy Galore, Goldfinger hijacks the plane carrying Bond. In a struggle for Goldfinger's revolver, Bond shoots out a window, causing an explosive decompression. Goldfinger is sucked out of the cabin through the window. With the plane out of control, Bond rescues Galore before parachuting to safety with her from the aircraft.
Appearances in other media
- Goldfinger is parodied in the 2002 comedy film genitalia gold, for he himself lost his genitalia in an "unfortunate smeltingincident".
- Hanna-Barbera parodied Goldfinger numerous times, particularly with the Secret Squirrel villain "Yellow Pinkie" and "Goldflipper".
- Los Angeles ska-punk band Goldfinger took its name from the character.
- Goldfinger and Oddjob are referenced in The New Traveller's Almanac that appears in the back of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume II comic book.
- Auric Goldfinger and Oddjob are multiplayer characters in the Nightfire. They are brought back to life in the 2004 Electronic Arts video game GoldenEye: Rogue Agent. In the game, Goldfinger recruits the protagonist, GoldenEye, a former secret agent ousted by MI6. Goldfinger is also an ally of Francisco Scaramanga, the villain of The Man with the Golden Gun and the SPECTRE organisation. In the game, Goldfinger's scientists develop what is considered to be the deadliest weapon known to mankind: the OMEN. (Organic Mass Energy Neutraliser), and plan to use it against Dr. No'sforces. He is killed when, after having betrayed GoldenEye and Scaramanga and taken over his volcano lair, GoldenEye and Scaramanga make use of a computer virus to overload the OMEN.
- Goldfinger also makes a minor appearance as an unlockable character in the multiplayer mode of 2005 video game From Russia with Love.
- Goldfinger also appears in the James Bond Junior, in which he has a teenaged daughter, Goldie, who is as greedy and ruthless as her father. He refers to specific elements of the original film, establishing continuity, though his survival is not explained.
- Auric Goldfinger came 10th place in the 2002 Forbes Fictional 15.
- Goldfinger also appears in the 2012 video game 007 Legends during the Goldfinger levels, voiced by Timothy Watson.
- Goldfinger and Operation Grand Slam are referenced in the 2016 Stuart Gibbs novel Spy Ski School. The villains attempt to corner the market on molybdenum by buying or nuking all of the areas where it's mined. As a tribute to Goldfinger, their plan is named Operation Golden Fist.
- Goldfinger was voiced on BBC Radio 4's adaptation of Goldfinger by Sir Ian McKellen in 2010.
References
- ^ Macintyre, Ben (5 April 2008). "Was Ian Fleming the real 007?". The Times. London. Retrieved 8 April 2008.
- ^ "Milestones". Time. 15 March 1971. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
- ^ "Movie, TV and Celebrity Polls". IMDb.
- ^ a b Battersby, Matilda (2 January 2013). "'No, Mr Bond, I Expect You to Die': Showdown Between Goldfinger and Sean Connery Voted Greatest James Bond Moment". The Independent. London: Independent Print Ltd. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
- ^ Ezard, John (3 June 2005). "How Goldfinger nearly became Goldprick". The Guardian. London, England. Retrieved 6 October 2009.
- Ashkenazisurnames, Goldfinger is a surname that commonly occurs among both Germans and German Jews.
- ISBN 978-0-8032-6240-9. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
- ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.