Review of Goldfinger (1964) by Bradley D — 08 Sep 2013

I watched Goldfinger (1964) last night. This film features the famous Aston Martin with machine guns, ejector seat and bullet proof glass, as well as stellar performances from Sean Connery, Honor Blackman and Gert Frobe as Goldfinger.

What I wasn't expecting was the in-your-face misogyny of this film. In one particularly offensive scene, Bond meets with his American colleague at a high end Miami resort, dismissing his latest sexual conquest with a smack on the backside, telling her there will be "man talk" that she could surely not grasp.

Then there's Pussy Galore, a name lampooned by Mike Myers as Ivana Humpalot and Alotta Fagina in the Austin Powers films. I don't think film viewers would appreciate a male bond villain named Huge Cock or Big Dick, so I'm left dumbfounded by this naming stupidity, which carries on with future films such as Octopussy.

This is where most Bond films lose my support. There's tongue-in-cheek sexual humour, which I understand, but what I see in Goldfinger is the blatant on screen objectification of women. For example, Pussy Galore is a committed villain, and business partner to Goldfinger - until having sex (once) with Bond. Apparently, 'uncloaking his dagger' changed Pussy Galore into an honest woman.