Goldfinger/Trivia

• Banned in China: The film was initially banned in Israel, due to Gert Fröbe having been a member of the Nazi party. However, it was then revealed that he used his connections to save several would-be Holocaust victims, and everything was cleared up.
• The Danza: Martin Benson as Martin Solo, one of the gangsters in Goldfinger's rumpus room.
• Enforced Method Acting:
  • The actor who played Oddjob was more of an athlete than an actor, and did not master the cinematic art of pulling back one's blows. When he injures James' neck in one scene, Sean Connery was actually hurt, and his discomfort was real.
  • Also, during the infamous laser scene, the special effects team (positioned beneath the table, using a flamethrower to guide the laser light) did not stop torching the laser where they intended. Connery's visible distress is genuine, and he complained when shooting was over.
  • And finally, a mook is splashed with scalding hot water early in the movie, and was actually burned.
  • Harold Sakata was getting burned during Oddjob's electrocution, but decided to keep going until the director yelled "Cut".
• Fake Brit: Auric Goldfinger is a British character played by a German actor. Lampshaded: "He's British, but he doesn't sound like it."
• Fake Nationality:
  • Oddjob is a Korean played by an American (Hawaiian) of Japanese descent.
  • Nadja Regin (Bonita) hails from Yugoslavia (Serbia now).
• Fountain of Expies:
  • Oddjob is the inspiration for countless hat-throwing scenes, among his Captain Ersatz inspirations are Random Task from Austin Powers and Vimes' butler, Wilkins in Discworld...
  • Pussy Galore, one of the most iconic Bond girls.
  • Jill Masterson is most remembered dead and painted gold than alive.
• Hey, It's That Guy!: The head of the Bank of England who briefs Bond and M about Goldfinger's illegal activities happens to travel the the British railway "Regularly! Twice a week!"
• I Am Not Spock: Happened to Harold Sakata, whose name later got credited with "Oddjob" (or sometimes "Odd Job") as a nickname.
• Mean Character, Nice Actor:
  • German actor Gert Frobe as Goldfinger. He was a member of the Nazi Party, and the film was consequently banned in Israel for many years until it was revealed that he secretly helped Jews flee the country.
  • Harold Sakata as Oddjob too; Sakata had a reputation as a gentle giant off screen.
• The Other Darrin: The start of a long chain of Other Darrins for Felix Leiter, as Cec Linder takes over the role from Jack Lord (who wanted too much money to return to the role).
• Science Marches On: Jill's death by "skin suffocation" was based on an erroneous belief of the time. Basically, she wouldn't have suffocated as long as she could still breathe from her mouth or nose, as obvious as that sounds. MythBusters also got in on the debunking. And even MythBusters got it wrong the first time, affirming the myth. Only after doctors contacted them did they do it again and get it right.
• Technology Marches On:
  • Averted so far considering how the gadgets in this film have aged surprisingly well and still look believable and practical. For instance, the personal tracer looks about the right size that such a device might look right if made today and its hiding place in the heel of Bond's shoe still looks neat.
  • The aversion has reached its ultimate conclusion and started looping around with the personal tracer in Skyfall doing the same thing, looking very similar, but somehow being larger.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Originally, Orson Welles was considered for the Goldfinger role, but proved too expensive (he would later play Le Chiffre in the Bond satire Casino Royale). Folk singer and actor Theodore Bikel also tested for the role.
  • The original plan for the climax was to have the climactic battle happen on the gates of Fort Knox, but it was decided that it would be much cooler to actually get to see the vault from the inside.