Goldfinger also introduced several elements which have since become cliches of the Bond series. Honor Blackman plays her as a woman with real spirit and intelligence, and it is a pity she does not get more screen time. The wonderfully-named Pussy Galore, meanwhile, is one of the best Bond girls. Goldfinger is one of the great Bond villains, played with real bonhomie by Gert Frobe, who succeeds in making him a more fleshed-out character than many of the one-dimensional baddies of later films. He is, however, still a believable character and finds himself in genuine danger during the film, having to rely on his wits to survive.

Guy Hamilton directs with impressive assurance, the locations are excellent and Sean Connery is once again the epitome of cool as Bond, although he is not as menacing as he was in the first two films.

There is undoubtedly much to admire about the film, not least the memorable Shirley Bassey theme song, still one of the best. Dr No and From Russia with Love had both been successful, but Goldfinger outperformed both at the Box Office, and in the process laid down the guidelines for nearly every Bond film that has followed since. Goldfinger was the third Bond film and, on its release in 1964, proved itself to be the first blockbuster of the series, firmly establishing OO7 in the public imagination.