007 can be a man of action or a man of style, and Connery is equally at home as either. In Goldfinger, Bond gets one of his better opponents. The title character (played by Gert Frobe) isn't the most sinister or vicious villain to stand against 007, but he is intelligent, ingenious, and obsessed with gold. Frobe's performance is top- notch for this kind of role. He treads the line between subtlety and overacting, showing different aspects of Goldfinger's shifting personality -- cruelty, greed, playfulness, and a single-minded determination. .
In Bond films, the henchman typically provides a more colorful adversary than his leader, and Goldfinger's mute Korean manservant, Oddjob (Harold Sakata), started this trend. Second only to Jaws (The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker) in near-invincibility, Oddjob is the kind of murder- loving ruffian that Bond can't beat in a fair fight. With his death-dealing, frisbee-like bowler and his immense strength, Oddjob proves a worthy foe for the superspy. .
In addition to being one of the most unforgettable of the "Bond Girls", Honor Blackman's Pussy Galore is one of the toughest and most self-sufficient women to cross 007's path. In her own words, she's immune to his charm, and, while this doesn't prevent her from sharing an intimate moment or two with him, she never yields her independence. Pussy has better things to do than follow Bond around like a faithful lap dog. .
Goldfinger is studded with moments that have since become deeply embedded in the Bond mythos. John Barry's opening song (sung by Shirley Bassey) is among the series' best. Snippets of dialogue have attained an almost-legendary status, such as the exchange when Goldfinger is about to emasculate 007 with a laser. "Do you expect me to talk?" asks Bond. The response is succinct: "No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!" .
In the midst of Bond's "golden era" of the '60s, it's hard to single out one film as the best, but history has shown Goldfinger to be among the series' most enduring entries.
