'Goldfinger' Turns 50: (00)7 things you didn't know about the classic James Bond film

The London premiere of "Goldfinger," James Bond's third big-screen adventure, occurred exactly 50 years ago on Sept. 17, 1964. To celebrate this auspicious anniversary for everyone's favourite super spy, here are (00)7 things you probably didn't know about "Goldfinger."

Charles Foster Goldfinger

German actor Gert Fröbe wasn’t the first choice to play “Goldfinger's” titular villain, as Bond producers originally wanted legendary actor/director Orson Welles to play the role of Auric Goldfinger. Unfortunately, Welles turned out to be too expensive for the production, so they went with Fröbe instead.

Welles would eventually play a Bond villain -- sort of. The actor later portrayed Le Chiffre in the unofficial 1967 version of “Casino Royale” starring David Niven.

Nein, Herr Bond...

“Goldfinger” was one of actor Gert Fröbe first major English language roles. The German actor had previously worked primarily in German, French, and Italian movies, and as a result spoke very little English. This made playing Auric Goldfinger (a character who was required to deliver several lengthy evil villain speeches in the film) slightly tricky.

On set, Fröbe delivered his lines either phonetically in English or quickly in his native German so that they could be dubbed over in post-production. One of the only times Fröbe’s own voice can be heard is in the original trailer for “Goldfinger,” when he tells 007 to "Choose your next witticism carefully, Mr. Bond, it may be your last.” British-Canadian actor Michael Collins dubbed Fröbe’s voice.

Lasers

While we take lasers for granted in modern cinema, lasers were very unfamiliar to movie audiences when "Goldfinger" came out, as they'd only just been invented in 1960. "Goldfinger's" famous laser scene was one of the first times that the device was ever depicted on film. The script originally called for Goldfinger to try to kill Bond using a circular saw, but what fun is that? The filmmakers decided to replace the saw with a high-powered industrial laser, and the rest is 007 history.

Kitty Galore?

"Goldfinger" followed the tradition of giving Bond Girls names that also acted as ridiculous double entendres. The character of Pussy Galore (played by Honor Blackman) takes the cake, though, for Bond Girl with the most suggestive name. In fact, her name was so suggestive that producers briefly considered renaming her "Kitty Galore" - a slightly more polite (though hardly more innocent) moniker.

Blackman reportedly took great pleasure in embarrassing journalists by saying the character's name as often as possible in interviews. U.S. film censors were not fans though, and refused to allow Pussy Galore's name to appear on any of the marketing for "Goldfinger," where she is instead referred to as "Miss Galore" or simply "Goldfinger's personal pilot."

Dink Double Duty

Margaret Nolan, the model/actress who played the James Bond’s hilariously named Miami masseuse Dink, actually had a much bigger role in “Goldfinger” than most people realize. One of the most iconic images from “Goldfinger” is that of actress Shirley Eaton lying in bed, painted head-to-toe in gold, but in the posters and advertisements, as well as the film’s title sequence, the role of the golden lady was actually played by Nolan.

A land-based ending

Ever notice how most of Sean Connery’s James Bond movies ended pretty much the same way? Connery-era Bond almost always found himself stuck in a boat or raft at the end of the movie (with a girl, of course). Not so in "Goldfinger": It's the only Connery 007 movie that actually ends on solid ground.

Fastest grossing movie of all-time?

"Goldfinger" was a huge hit upon its release. The movie recouped its $3-million budget in just two weeks - so quickly that the Guinness Book of World Records listed "Goldfinger" as the fastest-grossing film of all time. All told, the movie ended making about $51 million worldwide (about $540 million in today's dollars) and secured 007's position as a major box office force.

Fifty years on, "Goldfinger" still holds up as one of the best James Bond movies ever made. So much of what we consider staples of the long-running franchise were first established in this movie.

What's your favourite 007 movie? Let us know in the comments.