Auric Goldfinger
is a man who loves gold so much that he only makes love to women
painted in gold, drives a gold Rolls Royce and hatches a scheme
to rob America's gold reserves at Fort Knox in order to corner the
world bullion market. James Bond is sent on his tail, first encountering
him cheating at cards and then on a golf course. On the way Bond
enconters Goldfinger's henchman, a Korean karate expert with steel
rimmed bowler hat designed to break a person's neck and a team of
lesbian pilots led by Pussy Galore.
By the time
Fleming came to write Goldfinger, he had tired from what
now seemed a yearly ordeal in producing yet another Bond adventure
and at times this shows; after a good build-up, with plenty of interest
in Florida while he discovers how Goldfinger is cheating at cards
and an exciting round of golf in England, the end of the book seems
rushed, almost as if Fleming just wanted to get it out of the way.
As well as
rushing the ending, Fleming does not manage to convince the reader
that most of the gold from the US reserves held in Fort Knox could
be removed so quickly and ultimately Goldfinger remains the
only book that has been bettered by the film version.
Goldfinger
must be one of the best loved films and features the memorable
Aston Martin DB5 fitted with an ejector seat and other additional
extras. It deviates from the plot of the book in changing Goldfinger's
plan from stealing the gold from Fort Knox to planning to make it
worthless by irradiating it with a nuclear device, in fact increasing
the plausibility of the story.
Follow the
links below for the books and films:
Goldfinger
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