Disappointing James Bond outing.

"Goldfinger" was the first James Bond movie I ever saw, and this is one of those rare cases of the movie being better than the book. Just consider one difference between the plots on page and screen. In the book, Goldfinger spares Bond's life because Bond suggests that he could work for Goldfinger. Goldfinger then makes Bond sit in on his meeting with his co-conspirators. In the movie, Goldfinger spares his life because Bond mentions Operation Grand Slam, a phrase Bond overheard but does not understand. Goldfinger decides to keep Bond alive as a prisoner because he wants to know what Bond knows and when he knew it. (Do others know about Grand Slam?) Neither plot makes much sense, but the movie version is a little better, especially since it means that rather than being invited to the meeting with Goldfinger's fellow conspirators (boring), Bond must sneak out of his cell in order to spy on the meeting.

The movie also has that great scuba/tuxedo opening that is not in the book. According to Ben McIntyre, I believe, that scene was based on an actual World War II operation that Fleming was either in on or at least knew about at the time. So when did he use it in a Bond story or did he ever? The movie also has somewhat different final confrontations between Bond and Oddjob and between Bond and Goldfinger than the book does. I think the movie versions of these are better, even if, perhaps, all of these demises strain credulity. (One demise is the same, just not for the same villain.)

The movie also avoids Fleming's ridiculous notion that Bond is such a "real man" that he can convert a lesbian to heterosexuality by his mere assertion of masculinity.

While we are at it, I am not big on political correctness, but it is clear from books like this that what might have seemed like subtle, almost unnoticeable prejudice in 1959 is clearly bigotry. Goldfinger's Korean bodyguard might seem like a particular ogre, but all of Goldfinger's several Korean servants seem less than human. Oddjob is not quite human as depicted here. Is he shown any better in the movie? Maybe, but only because the actor who plays him is unmistakably a human being. (Not that Goldfinger's German henchmen are any less cipher-ish than his Koreans. If they are it is only because one the Germans actually has a line in the novel, while none of the Koreans do.)

On the other hand, the book does begin with the intimation that Bond might be suffering from PTSD as a result of killing too many people too easily for too long. Life has been cheapened by his line of work, and he is not enough of a sociopath to like it. That is interesting, and we never get that in any of the movies. At least not pre-Daniel Craig. ( )

3½ stars
Fleming partially spoiled this book for me with the views on women he gives Bond near the end regarding Tilly Masterton & Pussy Galore -- too misogynist for me! {In case you were wondering, I am referring to the fact that he blames Tilly's lesbianism to giving women the vote!! Plus then Pussy, who is also a lesbian, succumbs to Bond because he is a "real man" }

The plot about Goldfinger himself though was quite enjoyable. Not as good as "From Russia With Love" in my opinion, but still worth reading. ( )

I know, I know, I sound like a broken record, but how are these so popular?! It began with Bond catching a guy cheating at cards, then led into a riveting game of who could out cheat who at golf (yes the riveting was sarcasm), then some blah blah blah where Bond finds out what the bad guy is doing and how he does it, then he should have died, but the bad guy decided to spare him for some reason, then the conclusion, which drew less attention than the golf game, it seemed. Maybe the time was so different that back in the late ‘50s, early ‘60s these were really something, but it’s not holding up to the test of time. And I don’t even mean the blatant misogyny and racism, just the whole plots themselves. Also it cracks me up how we have these recurring characters showing up every so often in the books, except for the women, who either get killed off, or just forgotten about, despite how much Bond loves them so, at the time. ( )

The plot differs somewhat from the movie. And again, Flemming's physical descriptions for people are a bit jarring. ( )

Goldfinger (1959) (Bond #7) by Ian Fleming. Here we meet another red-headed German (actually he is a Baltic native) as Bond’s foe, although he doesn’t know the true nationality of the man. And again this enemy is brought to Bond’s attention because he cheats at cards. The first was Hugo Drax, evil mastermind behind the Moonraker threat to England. Now it is Auric Goldfinger, ready to steal America’s gold supply stashed at Fort Knox. And the book is different than the movie in some ways, although if you only know this title from the excellent movie version, you are not far from what had been written.
Bond, on his way back from a mission in Mexico, is waylaid by a fellow who saw him play cards against Le Chiffre from the Casino Royale novel. This Mr. Du Pont feels he is being cheated at cards and induces Bond to be his guest at his fabulous Miami Beach hotel, all expenses paid, in order to size up the opposition player and, if he is cheating, put a stop to it.
The cheater is Goldfinger and you probably know the rest of the story.
What you don’t know is just how inept Bond is in this book. Several times he should be on his guard, or trust another, or just open his eyes and use his well tuned “spy” intuition to guide him, but he stumbles through blindly. He rescues a girl from Goldfinger’s clutches, then brazenly sends her back to him. He stops another from shooting Goldfinger outright which precipitates all types of trouble for the both of them unnecessarily.
The novel doesn’t have a laser to be found, but there is something just as terrifying on hand for Bond. There is no horse farm in Kentucky, but there is Pussy Galore, only she doesn’t fly. Instead she is the crime boss of a New York lesbian gang, invited to participate in the assault on fort Knox.
Several of the set pieces found in the movie are here, and the cast of characters is very similar. Odd Job is even more daunting in the novel, and his demise is far different than the movie version.
One of the most fascinating hallmarks of all the Bond books is the grand methods Mr. Fleming used to make the games played by Bond and his adversaries as intriguing as any other part of the novel. If broadcasters could make golf as interesting as depicted herein, I might watch it. It seems the favorite motto for Goldfinger is “If you’re not cheating, you’re not really putting your all into it.”
Unfortunately there is a lot of discrimination on view throughout the novel. You name the group and there is probably a disparaging remark or ten tossed at them. Reading this book today you might be offended, but recall that this writing reflects, positively and negatively, the time it was written, namely the early 1950’s. WWII was lest than a decade past and a lot of hatred towards the Oriental was common among those who had been in the British military during the fight. Not that that excuses the written words. Anger is hard to disperse with in our little lives.
And the views of what makes a man a “Man” and a woman a “Woman” are so antiquated as to be almost, but not quite, laughable.
Despite all the negatives to the tale, this is a fast paced and exciting read, and you can understand why the movie version of this story is one of, if not the top Bond film of all time. Higher recommended, despite all it’s faults. ( )