12 Behind the Scenes Photos of Goldfinger Featuring Bond at His Finest

      Goldfinger, the third and arguably the finest James Bond film, premiered 62 years ago — yet it still shines brightly.

      We aren’t alone in deeming Goldfinger the greatest James Bond film. Sean Connery (above, with Margaret Nolan as Dink) is frequently ranked as the top James Bond actor, Auric Goldfinger is consistently listed among the best Bond villains, and the role portrayed by Honor Blackman (more details on her shortly) is widely regarded as one of the top Bond girls.

      Here are 12 behind-the-scenes images from Goldfinger, exclusively for your viewing pleasure.

      Shine On

      Credit: United Artists

      Goldfinger is perhaps most notorious for the shocking method by which the eponymous villain eliminates his assistant, Jill Masterson, played by Shirley Eaton:

      He has her painted gold, which leads to her death by skin suffocation.

      In the image above, Sean Connery ensures that the real Eaton is not experiencing any skin suffocation, despite her gold body paint.

      What a gentleman. There’s a reason he ranks so highly in our list of James Bond actors.

      Showing Some Leg

      Credit: United Artists

      For once, a Bond girl isn’t clad in the most revealing outfit.

      Here’s Connery with Eaton and Bond’s creator Ian Fleming, who passed away just a month before Goldfinger's release.

      Unfortunately, he never witnessed the success of Thunderball, which stands as the most profitable of all James Bond films — when adjusted for domestic box office.

      Roles in the Hay

      Credit: United Artists

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

      We’re not entirely sure if we can safely type Ms. Galore’s first name, as our stories get syndicated across various media platforms, many of which have understandably cautious filters. So… let's just say it doesn't meet every platform's standards that share our galleries.

      So… just picture a lot of feline friends?

      The Bond girls are well-known for their sometimes outrageous double-entendre names that catered to the male audience that enjoyed these films. Again, it was 1964.

      True Love

      Credit: United Artists

      Sean Connery as James Bond with his true love: His iconic Aston Martin, regarded as one of the most stunning movie cars of all time.

      A fully restored Goldfinger Aston Martin DB5 sold for $6.4 million in 2019. At that time, auction house RM Sotheby’s noted that it featured “hydraulic over-rider rams on the bumpers, a Browning .30 caliber machine gun on each fender, wheel-hub mounted tire-slashers, a retractable rear bullet-proof screen, an in-dash radar tracking scope, oil, caltrop and smoke screen dispensers, revolving license plates, and a passenger-seat ejection system.”

      It’s included in our list of Classic Cars in Classic Movies.

      Odd Job

      Credit: United Artists

      Harold Sakata, who played Oddjob, jokes around on set, revealing he’s not such a bad guy behind the scenes.

      Sakata was an American Olympic weightlifter and professional wrestler who fought under the name Tosh Togo.

      His wrestling success — both in the U.S. and Japan — led to his casting as Oddjob, the hat-throwing henchman for Goldfinger.

      The Fall Guy

      Credit: United Artists

      Speaking of hats…

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

      The gun-barrel sequence is, of course, the opening segment of the film, where Bond, sporting a hat, walks across the screen in profile and suddenly turns to fire his weapon at the audience as the Bond theme plays.

      Make-Up

      Credit: United Artists

      The gold paint on Eaton reportedly took 90 minutes to apply, but the effort was worthwhile: Her gold-painted image adorned the cover of LIFE magazine as part of the film's promotional campaign, being the third of the 27 Bond films.

      For collectors, her LIFE issue is the November 6, 1964 edition.

      She’s shown above being painted by makeup artist Paul Rabiger, who also worked on Bond films such as Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, and From Russia With Love.

      Good as Gold

      Credit: United Artists

      Shirley Eaton smiles brightly, even while covered in gold paint.

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

      It became a bestseller, and she went on to publish three more books.

      In the Club

      Credit: United Artists

      Harold Sakata as Oddjob alongside Gert Fröbe as Auric Goldfinger.

      Orson W