Auric Goldfinger

"No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die! There is nothing you can talk to me about that I don't already know."

- Goldfinger's most famous quote.

Auric Goldfinger is the titular main antagonist from the 1964 film Goldfinger. He is a powerful gold smuggler, jeweler and metallugrist and the head of his gold company "Auric Enterprises".

He was portrayed by the late Gert Fröbe who also played Baron Bomburst, whose voice was dubbed over in post-production by Michael Collins.

Film Biography
Goldfinger was a wealthy jeweler who worked mainly with gold (as his name implies), being known as the biggest gold collector of the world. He had his own gold resources, but he was being investigated for smuggling illegal gold. James Bond was ordered to investigate him, discovering that Goldfinger smuggled gold in the parts of his own car, which was completely made of gold.

When Goldfinger learned about the investigation, he invited Bond for a friendly golfing game, where he threatened 007 to stay out of his business, ordering his bodyguard Oddjob to give 007 a demonstration, so Oddjob took out his hat and threw it at a statue, cutting it by the neck. Despite the threat, Bond continued investigating, which led to his capture. Goldfinger only spared him thanks to a bluff from Bond, instead imprisoning the agent at his ranch. Overhearing a meeting of Goldfinger and his associates, Bond eventually learned that Goldfinger was planning to invade Fort Knox, the U.S.'s fortified gold reserve.

Scheme
At first, Bond thinks that Goldfinger was planning to steal the gold, but after having a drink with Goldfinger (who said that he had no intention in stealing the gold), Bond soon learns that Goldfinger actually intends to destroy Fort Knox with an atomic bomb made from China (on behalf of Mr. Ling, Goldfinger's nuclear specialist from China), which would render the gold useless and validate Goldfinger's value of gold, thus making him the richest man in the world. To ensure that his plan would be successful, Goldfinger plans to have his fellow band of female pilots to spray nerve gas around the vicinity that would kill thousands of citizens, which will allow him and his forces to enter Fort Knox without resistance. He also decides to bring Bond along (as he plans to have him handcuffed to the bomb to finalize his plan).

However, before the plot went into effect, Bond convinced Goldfinger's personal pilot Pussy Galore to help him thwart Goldfinger's plans. To that end, she secretly called Washington and switched the nerve gas to a more harmless one that would send citizens into a temporary sleep. At Fort Knox, Goldfinger has Bond strapped to the bomb and bids him farewell before learning out in horror that several U.S. soldiers have arrived to the scene. Posing as a U.S. army officer, Goldfinger betrays Mr. Ling by shooting him and Oddjob and Kisch by trapping them inside the vault with the bomb. Goldinger manages to escape after shooting down several U.S. soldiers while Oddjob stays behind to ensure that Goldfinger's plan must succeed, even at the cost of his life and killing Kisch to ensure that no one disarms the bomb.

Though Bond manages to finish off Oddjob by electrocuting him, he has trouble trying to disarm the bomb. After the U.S. soldiers manages to finish the rest of Goldfinger's men, they get in their bomb expert to successfully disarm the bomb for good, thus foiling Goldfinger's plot. After the battle is won, Bond is sent to Washington in a private jet to meet the president, only to find out that Goldfinger has boarded the plane earlier, left the tied-up pilots in the hangar and had Miss Galore pilot the jet. Goldfinger plans to finish off both Bond and Galore for ruining his plans, but during a moment of carelessness as he points his gun away from Bond, Goldfinger is attacked by Bond and the two fight in the airplane. During the fight, Goldfinger accidentally shoots a window of the cabin and is sucked out of the plane before falling to his death.

James Bond Jr.
Goldfinger appears in the show, a spinoff of the movies. How he survived his death is never explained. He is shown as an of ally of S.C.U.M. His characterization on the show is somewhat closer to the book, as he now wants to procure gold rather than destroy it.

Trivia

 * Goldfinger is one of the most iconic Bond villains in history - due in part to the legendary "Goldfinger" theme, which has been considered by many as one of the best themes to any Bond film.
 * Goldfinger is the first main villain to appear that isn't affiliated with SPECTRE, and the only one to appear before Blofeld's defeat in Diamonds Are Forever.
 * Originally, the main villain in Diamonds Are Forever was supposed to be Goldfinger's twin brother, but Fröbe refused to play him, so he was replaced by Ernst Stavro Blofeld.
 * In the original novel, Goldfinger's plan was to rob Fort Knox's gold depository, but this was changed in the movie after critics pointed out the flaws of said plan. In the film, Bond, under the assumption that Goldfinger's plan is the same as it was in the novel, explains the unfeasability of Operation: Grand Slam before learning Goldifnger's true intentions.
 * Goldfinger's name is thought to have been taken from Erno Goldfinger, a Hungarian architect who lived in London. Fleming had previously objected to the pre war demolition of Victorian cottages to make way for Erno's modernist designs. When Erno consulted his lawyers following the publishing of Goldfinger, Fleming threatened to rename the character "Goldprick". Eventually, Erno decided not to sue Fleming, whose publishers had agreed to pay his costs and gave him six copies of the book.
 * Goldfinger was initially banned in Israel due to Gert Fröbe's past affiliation with the Nazi Party. However, Fröbe had left the party before WWII, and the ban was lifted several years later after it came to light that he had helped two Jews by letting them hide in his basement during the war.

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Auric Goldfinger