Goldfinger

Goldfinger, the peak of Sean Connery's efforts as 007, and possibly the most iconic Bond film ever, also features James Bond in a very short onesie.

This is another one of those Bond films that often appeared on ABC as the movie of the week, and my dad and I would watch. I was too young to follow the story or understand the more mature situations, but I liked the gadgets.

As with most Bond films, the theme music is over the top and ridiculous, but the Goldfinger theme stands apart as both unabashedly awful and awesome at the same time.

Holy shit, Shirley Bassey sings loudly — okay, she's just pushed way forward in the mix, but still — listen to this!



All the 007 staples are here — gadgets, gorgeous locations, evil henchmen, implausible situations, quaint film techniques and special effects, and a guy who throws a hat.

Oddly, Oddjob's hat cuts off the head of a statue at Goldfinger's country club, but the same hat does not slice off Tilly Masterson's head later in the film.

Maybe Oddjob took a little something off when he threw at the girl. Yes.

Behold, Bond driving his Aston Martin into a brick wall and doing more damage to the wall. Behold, the frequent use of obvious frame rate adjustments to accentuate tension and action. Behold, the frickin' laser heading toward 007's balls. There's a lot to pick on here.

But that's not the point. Part of Goldfinger takes place in Kentucky, my dad's home state, where Goldfinger attempts to set off an atomic bomb inside Fort Knox and wreck the economy in the west. So here's a spy thriller with beautiful women, fast cars, guns, gadgets, and...Kentucky.

Goldfinger is a great Bond film — maybe the greatest — full of everything we wanted to see back then. And now.