Goldfinger: 12 Behind-the-Scenes Photos of James Bond at His Finest

      Here are some pictures from Goldfinger, considered by many to be the finest James Bond film and the third to feature Sean Connery as 007.

      Shine On

      United Artists

      Goldfinger is perhaps best known for the shocking manner in which the villain, Auric Goldfinger, eliminates his assistant, Jill Masterson, portrayed by Shirley Eaton: He has her covered in gold paint, which ultimately causes her death through skin suffocation.

      In the image above, Sean Connery ensures that the real Shirley Eaton isn’t in danger of skin suffocation despite her gold body paint, and she appears to be fine.

      Sharp-Dressed Man

      United Artists

      For a change, a Bond girl isn’t dressed in the most revealing costume. Here’s Connery with Shirley Eaton and Bond creator Ian Fleming, who passed away a month before Goldfinger premiered.

      Roles in the Hay

      United Artists

      Connery and Honor Blackman, who plays Ms. Galore, rehearse a notorious fight scene in the behind-the-scenes snapshot from Goldfinger.

      We’re uncertain if we can safely mention Ms. Galore’s first name, as our stories are distributed to numerous media platforms with sensitive filters.

      True Love

      United Artists

      Sean Connery as James Bond with his one true love: his iconic Aston Martin, one of the most stunning cars in cinema history.

      A fully restored Goldfinger Aston Martin DB5 sold for $6.4 million in 2019.

      Auction house RM Sotheby’s noted at that time that it featured items such as “hydraulic over-rider rams on the bumpers, a Browning .30 caliber machine gun in each fender, tire-slashers mounted on the wheel hubs, an elevating rear bullet-proof screen, an in-dash radar tracking scope, dispensers for oil, caltrops and smoke screens, revolving license plates, and a passenger-seat ejection system.”

      Odd Job

      United Artists

      Harold Sakata, who portrayed Oddjob, jokes around on set, showing he’s not a villain off-screen.

      The Fall Guy

      United Artists

      From left to right, actor-stuntman Bob Simmons, who represented Bond in the gunbarrel sequence, Connery, and Nadja Regin, who played Bonita.

      The gunbarrel sequence serves as the film's opening segment, where Bond, wearing a hat, walks across the screen in profile before suddenly turning to aim his gun at the audience as the Bond theme plays.

      Make-Up

      United Artists

      Eaton’s gold paint reportedly took 90 minutes to apply, but it was worth it: her gold-painted image was featured on the cover of LIFE magazine as part of the film's promotional efforts, marking the third film out of the 27 Bond movies.

      If you’re a collector, her LIFE magazine issue is the one dated November 6, 1964.

      In the image above, she is being painted by makeup artist Paul Rabiger, who also contributed to Bond films including Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, and From Russia With Love.

      Good as Gold

      United Artists

      Shirley Eaton beams with joy, even while covered in gold paint.

      Eaton, a British actress also recognized for the Carry On films, retired from acting in 1969 to focus on her family but published her autobiography titled Golden Girl in 1999.

      It became a bestseller, and she subsequently released three additional books.

      In the Club

      United Artists

      Harold Sakata as Oddjob alongside Gert Fröbe as Auric Goldfinger.

      Orson Welles was one of the actors considered for the role of Goldfinger, a gold-obsessed tycoon, but he demanded too high a salary. (Shouldn’t that have made him more suitable for the role?)

      Fröbe, a German actor, was dubbed by Michael Collins, continuing a Bond tradition as Ursula Andress was similarly dubbed in the original Bond film, Dr. No.

      From Russia With Love

      United Artists

      Tania Mallet, who portrayed Jill’s sister, Tilly Masterson, poses for a snapshot taken by an amateur photographer named Sean Connery.

      Mallet, an English actress and model who occasionally signed her name with two Ts, had a backstory fit for a Bond movie: she descended from Russian aristocrats on her mother’s side.

      She had auditioned for the role of Tatiana Romanova in the second Bond film, From Russia with Love, but the filmmakers chose not to cast her due to her British accent.

      How Sean Connery Became Bond

      United Artists

      Ian Fleming, on the left, initially did not feel Connery resembled the sophisticated and suave James Bond from his novels, who, notably, resembled Fleming himself.

      However, he quickly recognized the Scottish actor's appeal and, in one of his novels following Connery’s casting, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, he even infused some Scottish traits into his depiction of Bond, as noted by