Goldfinger - most % of a Bond film shot in England?

Napoleon Plural

One revelation for me in Moore's new Bond on Bond book is that Sean Connery didn't set foot on US soil even once for the entire duration of Goldfinger's shooting schedule, depite so much of it being filmed supposedly at Kentucky.

Which gets you thinking: pts, shot on a Pinewood stage, Miami, Florida - was Connery even there, come to think of it? Obviously the Masterton scene is on the set. Stoke Poges golf club is meant to be the UK, but Auric's Factory is all Pinewood, as is the chase in the woods. Exterior shots obviously at daytime is the Swiss Alps, can't fake that. But from then on, the rest of the film is all on or around Pinewood. Compared with the Jamaica shoot in Dr No, and Istanbul stuff in FRWL, surely it was the most English-based Bond so far, and remains so?

No wonder Connery was once quoted how much he liked filming TB, purely on the basis that for once so much of it was shot abroad. While YOLT must have seemed a very long shoot indeed, in that so much of it was in Japan. I mean, compared to the previous two, which had a big chunk of UK shooting both on screen and/or doubling for elsewhere.

David Schofield

I think it's well documented that Connery never left the UK for GOLDFINGER.

The Fountainbleu scenes were shot with doubles with Cec Linder and one other - Goldfinger's card opponent? - being the only main cast there. Connery and the rest were added later with back-projection, or whatever the technical terms is... ? All this from memory, though.

But it does beg the question - how ludicrously expensive does a Bond film have to be? With the advancement in filming techniques now, is it necessary to shoot abroad to convincly present Bond being there and convincing the audience of the film's exotic global-trotting tick-box credentials?

Makes economic sense, too. Might save having the hawk yourself to watchmakers and brewerys....

chrisisall

David Schofield wrote:

is it necessary to shoot abroad to convincly present Bond being there and convincing the audience of the film's exotic global-trotting tick-box credentials?

That's tricky, as far as CGI has come, nothing replaces REAL photography of REAL stuff. It would work or course, but that little reptilian part of your brain just won't accept too much of it as 'real'.

Mark Hazard

I seem to recall someone once mentioned that Brosnan didn't venture out of the UK for one of his, but can't remember which one.