Ejector Seat in Goldfinger

justvisiting

I was watching the US science experiment show "Myth Busters" on the Discovery Channel last evening, and the team set out to challenge the ejector seat. They were able to replicate it, but significantly better than the scene in Goldfinger. I didn't see how they built the ejector seat, but the end result using a late sixites Toyota Corona coupe and a mannequin was quite impressive. What impressed me most was that the team was able to conceal the seat and able to make it look pretty stock, although it sat a bit too high. The final test resulted in a nice action shot of the seat being fired as the car drove along at speed, and the deat cleared the entire length of the vehicle.

I was always disappointed with the scene in Goldfinger, at least the camera shot. It is from so far a distance that it is hard to see what really happened. Then of course the scene in Cannonball Run looks like they used wires to raise the victim from the car.

From what I have read in Steven Jay Rubin's book about the GF Aston-Martin, an actual fighter jet ejector seat was substituted in the one scene. I'll have to check "The Most Famous Car in the World" to get the actual details of how the ejector seat scene was filmed.

superado

Yes, short of reaching over and reading my copy of The Most Famous Car in the World (and sacrificing time away from the keyboard to actually scour physical pages for info), I do remember how that "gag" was accomplished with a real jet fighter ejector seat, necessitating the car to be at a full stop because of the enormity and technical nature of the ejector seat. I agree that the "cool" factor of such a gadget would be optimally demonstrated with the car going in full speed, though considering the limitations balanced with the visual payoff, how they did it was nicely done.

Mr Martini

I posted a new thread in the JB Event and screening section. I think you'll like what you see. It's James Bond and Mythbuster related.