Goldfinger—the third installment in the 007 franchise—is the most appreciated James Bond film by critics (98% on Rotten Tomatoes). Audiences loved it too. The movie entered the Guinness Book Of Records shortly after its release as the "fastest grossing film of all time." This was after it recouped its budget in less than two weeks.
Based on Ian Fleming's novel of the same time, Goldfinger follows fictional MI6 agent James Bond as he tries to stop gold tycoon Auric Goldfinger from destroying the United States gold reserve in order to increase the value of his own reserve. Here are the major differences between the book and the movie.
Spying On Goldfinger In Miami
In the movie, Bond spies on Goldfinger in Miami after M orders him to do so. Before the new assignment, he had gone to the popular Florida city on vacation. The message from M is delivered by CIA agent Felix Leiter. Bond also seduces Goldfinger's employee Jill Masterson and uses her to spy on her master.
Events in the novel are slightly different. Bond is shifting planes in Miami after bringing down a Mexican drug cartel when he meets Junius Du Pont. Mr. Du Pont is a wealthy American businessman who Bond gambled with briefly during the events of Casino Royale. It is Du Pont who asks Bond to spy on Auric Goldfinger.
The Laser Scene
Goldfinger's most iconic scene happens when Mr. Auric Goldfinger captures Bond and begins to torture him. Bond then asks: "You expect me to talk?" To which Goldfinger replies: "No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die." At this point, the villain has strapped Bond to a table while a red laser threatens to slice him, starting with his groin area.
In Ian Fleming's novel, events don't quite play out like this. Bond is also strapped to a table but instead of a laser, it's a circular saw that threatens to slice him in half. Lasers were popular back in the day. All the first 15 Bond films included a laser scene at some point, so it's understandable.
Operation Grand Slam
Every villain has a masterplan and for Auric Goldfinger, his mission, labeled "Operation Grand Slam," was to detonate a Red Chinese atomic bomb right inside the US gold repository at Fort Knox. Reason? The bomb would irradiate the entire US gold reserve, thereby making it invaluable. This would increase the value of his own gold.
The novel went about "Operation Grand Slam" in a manner that most critics felt didn't make much sense. Goldfinger opted to steal all the gold from Fort Knox instead of destroying it, thus burdening himself with the logistical nightmare of moving the heavy metal.
Goldfinger's Disturbing Gold Fetish
Ian Fleming painted Auric Goldfinger as a man who had a disturbing fetish for gold. He apparently likes wearing gold-colored briefs while suntanning. He has a library worth of yellow-covered pornographic magazines and only enjoys making love to women painted in gold. To add to that, he moves around in a gold-plated Rolls Royce Phantom III Sedanca De Ville.
The film discards all the insensitive material and only keeps the Rolls-Royce color. The line: "I love its color, its brilliance, its divine heaviness," is also kept in the movie. The scene where Jill Masterson is killed by getting suffocated in gold is maintained as it was too.
Pussy Galore's Occupation
In Goldfinger the movie, Pussy Galore is an English aerial-acrobatics expert. She is the leader of a group of female aviators known as the "Pussy Galore's Flying Circus." Galore is revealed to be helping Goldfinger to carry out "Operation Grand Slam." She later turns good after falling for Bond.
Galore's occupation in the novel is different. She is the leader of an American gang of female burglars known as the "Cement Mixers." Auric Goldfinger hires the "Cement Mixers" to kill the marines guarding Fort Knox by putting poisonous chemicals into their water supply. Galore is also a lesbian in the novel.
The Meeting With Gang Leaders
The movie was nearly perfect but there is a moment that makes no sense. When Bond gets captured, Goldfinger invites a couple of gang leaders in order to explain to them his plan to destroy Fort Knox. However, he ends up gassing them all to death. So, why bother to explain in the first place?
Only one gang leader named Helmut Springer is killed in the novel during the meeting. Helmut refuses to join the operation and so Goldfinger's henchman Oddjob 'takes care of him.' A classic case of "you are either in this, or you are dead."
Tilly's Fate
Tilly Masterson was the sister of Goldfinger's former secretary and Bond's brief lover Jill Masterson. After Jill got killed for spying on Goldfinger for Bond, Tilly went on a revenge mission where she tried to kill Goldfinger several times, first in Geneva.
When Bond sneaks into Goldfinger's plant and finds out how the villain smuggles gold, he almost gets out successfully. But then he encounters Tilly who is trying to kill Goldfinger again. Tilly trips an alarm and while attempting to escape, a brilliant car chase follows. Unfortunately, the two are captured and Tilly gets killed by Oddjob who slices her with his razor-rimmed hat. In the novel, Tilly doesn't get killed at that point. She is captured together with Bond and only gets killed later on during "Operation Grandslam."
Secretary Bond
After Bond is captured in the novel, he is tortured. In an effort to avoid being killed, he offers to work for Goldfinger. The villain initially refuses but changes his mind later on. He employs Bond as a secretary and his fast task involves sitting at the meeting between Goldfinger and the gang leaders.
The screenwriters of the movie must have figured that it didn't make much sense for Goldfinger to employ Bond, so they went another route. To avoid getting killed, Bond tells Goldfinger that MI6 knows he is investigating him, and if he disappears, they'll come after him and ruin his plans. This convinces the villain to keep Bond alive.
Goldfinger's Death
Goldfinger has one of the most iconic villain death scenes in all the Bond films. When Bond is invited to have lunch with the President at the White House, Goldfinger hijacks the private jet that's taking him to Washington. A scuffle ensues, the pistol fires, shooting at one of the windows. This causes a decompression and Goldfinger gets sucked out of the plane.
Ian Fleming didn't actually picture things that way. In the novel, it's Goldfinger's henchman Oddjob who gets sucked out of a plane's window. As for the villain, Bond kills him in a rather traditional manner by strangling him with his bare hands.
Meeting With The President? Not Really!
After managing to stop "Operation Grand Slam" and preventing an economic disaster, Bond gets invited to the White House in the film. The President wants to congratulate him on his good work, even though he is a foreign agent. Goldfinger then hijacks the plane.
This plays out differently in the novel. Bond is never invited to the White House. Bond is supposed to head but to London but he gets drugged. He wakes up and finds out that he's been kidnapped by Goldfinger. A fight then ensues, leading to the death of both Goldfinger and Oddjob.