(27 October 2010) The Aston Martin DB5 used in this movie (and Thunderball) was sold (fully "loaded") to American classic car collector, Harry Yeaggy, for a reported $4.6 million by London's RM Auctions. The car had only one previous private owner, an American radio station owner named Jerry Lee, who purchased the car directly from the Aston Martin factory for $12,000 in 1969. Lee had kept the car at his Pennsylvania home for over forty years.
Milton Reid lobbied unsuccessfully for the role of Oddjob. He would later be successful in gaining the part of the henchman Sandor in The Spy Who Loved Me, a character based on the hood Slugsy from the novel. His part was similar to that of Oddjob in that they both are stocky and rarely talk. Reid also played a guard in Dr. No, but was uncredited.
Theodore Bikel and Titos Vandis were both screen tested for the title role of the villain Goldfinger. Both their screen tests can be seen on the DVD Ultimate Edition.
Sean Connery hurt his back during the fight sequence with Oddjob in Fort Knox. The incident delayed filming and some say that Connery used the injury to get a better deal out of the producers for the next 007 film.
Sean Connery never traveled to the United States to film this movie. Every scene in which he appears to be in the USA was filmed in Pinewood Studios outside London. This explains why Bond flips a light switch down to discover the golden corpse of Jill, as English light switches are generally turned on by flicking them down instead of up.
Sean Connery, who was married to actress Diane Cilento at the time, wore a flesh-colored bandage (clearly seen in some production stills) over his wedding ring while filming.
Sean Connery's first day of filming was 19 March 1964 at Stage D, Pinewood Studios for shooting of the South American El Scorpio Nightclub opening sequence.
Steven Spielberg cites this as his personal favorite of all the Bond movies and even owns an Aston Martin DB5 due to the impact Goldfinger had on him. The Aston Martin DB5 that was seen in Catch Me If You Can was a personal prop loaned to the production by Spielberg himself. The car is the same make and model. A clip of the movie is seen in Catch Me If You Can in the scene in the cinema where we see Leonardo DiCaprio watching this movie.
Michael G. Wilson: The future Bond producer as a Korean Soldier at Fort Knox. This is the first of Wilson's now-famous cameos in the series which occur as regular appearances in every film starting from The Spy Who Loved Me.
Harold Sakata (Oddjob) severely burned his hand while reaching for his hat when filming his death scene, but he was determined to do it right, he held on until Guy Hamilton yelled: "Cut!"
Gert Fröbe had serious reservations about Goldfinger using nerve gas to get rid of his witnesses. Frobe felt that with him being a German, this scene would have Nazi concentration camp implications. Indeed, the film was banned in Israel for many years after Gert Fröbe revealed he had been a member of the Nazi Party. The ban was lifted after a Jewish family came forward to praise Fröbe for protecting them from persecution during World War II.
Gert Fröbe once said of his role as Goldfinger: "I am a big man, and I have a laugh to match my size. The ridiculous thing is that since I played Goldfinger in the James Bond film there are some people who still insist on seeing me as a cold, ruthless villain - a man without laughs."
Gert Fröbe spoke very little English, so Michael Collins dubbed his voice. Director Guy Hamilton instructed him to speak quickly which would assist the looping. A line in the film says of Goldfinger: "He's a Brit, but doesn't sound like it." Due to the dubbing, this is not accurate. In the Switzerland factory scene, Fröbe's mouth does not move, thereby making the dubbing obvious. Reportedly though, Fröbe was acting in some English which reduces the awareness of the dubbing. In the film's trailer, however, Fröbe's own voice is heard when Goldfinger tells James, "Choose your next witticism carefully, Mr. Bond, it may be your last," and when meeting with the mobsters, when he says, "Except crime!" Fröbe's own voice can be heard in the German dubbed version of the film, too.
Honor Blackman is the oldest ever Bond Girl, being 37 years of age at the time of filming.
Honor Blackman quit her role as Cathy Gale on The Avengers to appear in Goldfinger. A 1965 episode of The Avengers made sly reference to this by having John Steed receive a Christmas card from Cathy Gale - sent from Fort Knox.
Honor Blackman was the first Bond girl actress with a prior acting career.
Shirley Eaton already had an association with the James Bond series before Goldfinger. She made three appearances in The Saint with future James Bond Roger Moore.
Shirley Eaton, gilded completely in gold, featured on the cover of Life Magazine on 6 November 1964. The headline read: "A Matter for James Bond - Shirley Eaton, Gilded Victim in Goldfinger, Funniest and Money-Makingest of the OO7 Movies".
Nadja Regin (Bonita the nightclub dancer) previously appeared in From Russia with Love as Kerim Bey's girl.