The Ultimate James Bond Poll Results

BOND AT 50 - Poll Reaction
LUKE WILLIAMS chats with a selection of Bond alumni and learns their
reactions to the result of the 007 MAGAZINE Greatest Ever Bond Film Poll!

It’s obvious they haven’t all contributed financially because we witness one mobster deciding to opt out. Apart from explaining the details of Goldfinger’s plans to the audience what is the purpose of this scene?

Bond’s escape from the prison cell is also hopelessly contrived and very un-cool. From then on he is treated more as a guest than a prisoner as he strides around in his smart suit and for some convenient reason he is never restrained! In the cell scene, where he is guarded by about six guards, one wonders why they don’t just tie him up instead of letting him sit around looking totally relaxed! As for walking along in the sunshine with Pussy linking arms – all elements of tension are completely eliminated and the frivolous judo encounter has no place in a Connery Bond film. Any discerning film buff would ask why in heaven’s name Goldfinger would want to bother with keeping Bond alive when his intention is to kill him anyway! Obviously, the plot demands that Pussy and Bond develop a relationship to justify her becoming a turncoat, but the script should have been re-written to accommodate that.

Finally, there is a small directorial point which one could easily brush aside but I still feel should be mentioned. The scene where the platoons of soldiers are supposedly wiped out by lethal gas makes me cringe every time I see it. Whoever shot it should have ensured that the men staggered and slowly dropped to the ground rather than them all dropping en bloc the way they do. I expect it was shot by a second unit because I can’t imagine Guy shooting it like that.

I wish I could pin-point the reason why this movie has proved so popular but, apart from the fact that it has a glossy look about it, I really can’t make it out! I guess one could focus on the bizarre way Shirley is executed, the character of Goldfinger, the sunny locations, the ingenuity of Operation Grand-Slam, the stunning design of Goldfinger’s operations room and Fort Knox, plus, of course, the music!

What's your favourite memory connected with working on Goldfinger?
Without doubt my favourite memory connected with my work on Goldfinger was the fact that I had a more relaxing time than on Dr. No and From Russia with Love! The previous two films hadn’t been as creatively challenging but they were far busier and more action-packed and, in the case of Dr. No, pressured by a tight budget.

On Goldfinger, I was free to use recording theatres regardless of cost, and concentrate on creating the special sounds such as Oddjob’s flying hat, the crushing of the golf ball, the ripping of Tilly Masterson’s tyre, the laser machine, Goldfinger’s electronic demonstration room and the car crushing machine. I could even say that my favourite memory of all was creating the sound of the car-crushing machine because, of all the sounds I created on six Bond films, the car crusher will always be my favourite. When the scene came back from the US the sound shot at the time was very poor so I was virtually required to start from scratch. The most difficult sound to find was the heaving (back and forth) of the crusher’s jaws. As it turned out, some workmen came to do repairs on the studio car park and a compressor they used produced the perfect sound for the jaws. I rushed to tell my sound recordist but he was too busy on the set and the only machine he had to spare was a toy recorder he’d bought for his son. In desperation I used the toy to ‘record’ the compressor and it was used in the final mix. The guys mixing the tracks made no comment and it’s only in recent times that I’ve told people my secret!

What was the biggest challenge you faced in designing and devising the sound effects for the film?
Without doubt the biggest challenge for me on Goldfinger was producing a suitable sound for the laser beam. On all the early Bonds I had to face the fact that the gadgets and special effects were moving into a futuristic genre which was beyond the sound technology existing at the time. For instance, on Dr. No it was impossible to create a controllable sound for the nuclear reactor in Dr. No’s laboratory and, only through the genius of an electronics technician at Pinewood, was a machine invented to make the sound possible. The laser beam in Goldfinger created an equally big challenge and it was only by chance that I heard of a company called The BBC Radiophonic Workshop, set up to experiment with electronic music. I showed the scene to a member of their staff and described the sound that I envisaged but I never thought for a moment that they would have the technology. When they returned a week later with their creation it was exactly the sound I’d described. My relief had no limits. It was a moment I shall never forget.

When I looked out at the audience I found the glare of the lighting was so bright that one couldn’t easily make out individual faces, so any feeling of nerves remarkably receded. My short speech was received with rapturous applause and I walked off arm-in-arm with Angie to meet the press. When I finally returned to my seat my wife was dreamy-eyed as, apart from the fact that her husband had just won an Oscar, she had just seen the one-and-only Judy Garland singing live! The whole event was totally surreal but obviously an event that will stay in my memory forever. The ceremony was followed immediately afterwards by a lavish ball where one could eat, drink and dance with the stars. Charlton Heston came across for a chat and kindly signed my programme. My wife and I had to smile at the fact that if one nudged someone on the dance floor the chances were it would at least turn out to be Gregory Peck!

We've gathered already that you don't think Goldfinger is the greatest Bond film! What do you rate as the best Bond film then?
Until recently I would have said From Russia With Love was the greatest Bond film and I can well understand why it was Cubby’s favourite. It had a straight, believable story that didn’t drift into fantasy-land like so many other Bond movies. As scriptwriter, Richard Maibaum so rightly said: “We hadn’t gone so far yet into the fantastical – it was entirely believable. Real people in real situations.” I also thought the casting was brilliant; Daniela Bianchi made such a refreshing heroine, Pedro Armendariz was perfect as Bond’s ally and Robert Shaw was totally original and sinister as the villain. I agree with Terence Young when he said he thought the film had far and away the best cast of any Bond film. Even Matt Monro was perfect casting for the wonderful title song!

I think it’s significant that so many scenes in From Russia With Love are remembered by everyone, which cannot be said about many in the series that followed: for example, the ‘murder’ of Bond by Grant in the pre-title sequence; the massage scene involving Grant and busty Jan Williams; the gypsy camp belly-dancer and girl fight; Bond’s assassination of Krilencu on the billboard and the best fight scene of any in the series between Bond and Grant in the train. Also, has there ever been another scene like the one where Rosa Klebb whacks Grant in the guts, followed by the words: “He seems fit enough!”

Without doubt, From Russia with Love is my favourite Bond movie but I cannot deny that Casino Royale has taken the series into a new era. Daniel Craig will never replace Sean but, with the films taking on a new image, I believe he was perfect casting. I thought the film was masterfully directed by Martin Campbell and no other Bond film can match its production values. If I were to see Russia and Casino tomorrow back to back for the first time it’s difficult to predict which I would prefer, but my instinct tells me it would be Casino Royale.

Norman, thank you for your time - as well as your incredible contribution to the Bond series!

POLL RESULTS

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