Auric Goldfinger - Gert Frobe (Fröbe)

modelmaker007 · March 2016

Hi,
Does anyone know here for a Fact, why Frobe was dubbed by Michael Collins in Goldfinger?

I've googled and found the same answers everywhere... "Frobe couldn't speak a word of English" etc etc... but this is all Google talk and not good enough info for me....maybe someone has read something more believable than this, somewhere in a Biography or the such.

Peppermill · March 2016

Honor Blackman says so in the Inside Goldfinger documentary and I believe it is also mentioned by Guy Hamilton in that same documentary.

Ornithologist · March 2016

I thought I had read that he did speak English but with such a strong accent / simply not good enough that it wouldn't have been credible. He was from Saxony after all and even we (other) Germans don't understand them 99% of the time.

Not relevant to the question at all, but Fröbe's best role is of course still this guy:

Thunderpussy · March 2016

As others have said, he had a very strong accent, which made him difficult to
Be Understood. The strangest bit of dubbing I've heard for him,was in the 70s
Remake of " Then there were none" which was very high pitched and didn't suit
His body shape at all.

Barbel · March 2016

Guy Hamilton has been quoted more than once as saying that Frobe couldn't speak English, including in this (highly recommended) book- http://www.amazon.com/Goldfinger-Bloomsbury-Movie-Guides-No/dp/1582340153 and as Peppermill says above.

modelmaker007 · March 2016

Ornithologist wrote:

I thought I had read that he did speak English but with such a strong accent / simply not good enough that it wouldn't have been credible. He was from Saxony after all and even we (other) Germans don't understand them 99% of the time.

Exactly what I have found out... Do you know where you read this info... I'd like to use it as a source!

I have spoken to Gert Fröbes Family who have confirmed exactly this information... That he spoke English but with such a strong Saxon (Sächsische) accent that it was sometimes ( or mostly :-) hard to understand.
This is still not the same as not speaking English at all.

@Peppermill... Thanks for the info, I checked the video and yes they mention his Bad english but Hamilton did say that he said Hello etc and basically that he didn't understand anything after that... but still not the same as not speaking a word of English.

Barbel · March 2016

Here's a direct quote from the book I mentioned above, Hamilton being interviewed by Turner:

"Q: How did you first realise he couldn't speak English? That must have been a, well, a big problem.

A: ....Gert turned up on the set and said "How do you do, Mr Hamilton? Very happy to meet you. It is a great pleasure to be in the picture." When I asked him where he was staying, he said, "How do you do, Mr Hamilton? Very happy to meet you." That's all he'd learnt. He had a coach and learning by rote. He worked very hard but very, very slow."

modelmaker007 · March 2016

Barbel wrote:

Here's a direct quote from the book I mentioned above, Hamilton being interviewed by Turner:

"Q: How did you first realise he couldn't speak English? That must have been a, well, a big problem.

A: ....Gert turned up on the set and said "How do you do, Mr Hamilton? Very happy to meet you. It is a great pleasure to be in the picture." When I asked him where he was staying, he said, "How do you do, Mr Hamilton? Very happy to meet you." That's all he'd learnt. He had a coach and learning by rote. He worked very hard but very, very slow."

Thanks.. thats interesting.. I'll have a look into this matter a bit more :-)

Ornithologist · March 2016

modelmaker007 wrote:

Ornithologist wrote:

I thought I had read that he did speak English but with such a strong accent / simply not good enough that it wouldn't have been credible. He was from Saxony after all and even we (other) Germans don't understand them 99% of the time.

Exactly what I have found out... Do you know where you read this info... I'd like to use it as a source!

I think it was the German Wikipedia. But if you know or have spoken to his family, why are you still looking for sources?

Gassy Man · March 2016

I've heard him in other films, and unless he was dubbed again, sounded more or less like he did in Goldfinger.

chrisisall · March 2016

Gassy Man wrote:

I've heard him in other films, and unless he was dubbed again, sounded more or less like he did in Goldfinger.

A fan of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang I take it?

Gassy Man · March 2016

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MarcAngeDraco · March 2016

I read that you can hear his real voice throughout the film though. The laser scene particularly. IF that's true, then whoever dubbed him did a magnificent job for the other parts where it's not Frobe's voice.

modelmaker007 · March 2016

Ornithologist wrote:

modelmaker007 wrote:

Ornithologist wrote:

I thought I had read that he did speak English but with such a strong accent / simply not good enough that it wouldn't have been credible. He was from Saxony after all and even we (other) Germans don't understand them 99% of the time.

Exactly what I have found out... Do you know where you read this info... I'd like to use it as a source!

I think it was the German Wikipedia. But if you know or have spoken to his family, why are you still looking for sources?

Because its a bit of a Paradox at the moment. His own Family say that he spoke English but with an accent which could be hard to understand, Hamilton says he didn't speak a word and Blackman says similar... so I'm trying to find out the "truth"
Who do you believe? His own Family or the people who worked with him? so thats why I'm trying to get good sources!

Barbel · March 2016

This clip doesn't answer the question but might be of interest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTMdNSopPZc

(clips of Michael Collins in an episode of "The Saint", with some rather familiar actors)

IanT · March 2016

I thought Gert Frobe was particularly good in "The Little Vampire"

Just saying...

Barbel · March 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MA65V-oLKa8

About two minutes into the trailer:
Frobe "Choose your next witticism carefully Mr Bond, it may be your last"
Connery "Do you expect me to talk?"
Collins "No Mr Bond, I expect you to die!"

If memory serves, it's also partially Frobe's real voice in the film itself while Bond is underneath the Fort Knox model.

MarcAngeDraco · March 2016

Damn... Why did they dub him?! He was excellently dubbed but his real voice was fantastic in that clip.

I would have loved to have seen Ursula Andress, Claudine Auger and Adolfi Celi perform their respective roles in their real voices.

Ornithologist · March 2016

Barbel wrote:

A: ....Gert turned up on the set and said "How do you do, Mr Hamilton? Very happy to meet you. It is a great pleasure to be in the picture." When I asked him where he was staying, he said, "How do you do, Mr Hamilton? Very happy to meet you." That's all he'd learnt. He had a coach and learning by rote. He worked very hard but very, very slow."

Is it so far-fetched that Fröbe understood "What were you saying" or sth along these lines and repeated on purpose? This happens everyday even to native speakers and more often to foreigners who speak the language well.

I think it's very possible that the truth lies somewhere in the middle, as in: He spoke good conversational English but they weren't satisfied it was good enough for the movie. After all his character isn't even German so any accent would have sounded off.

Napoleon Plural · April 2016

The answer is in this thread.

I mean, anyone can recite some verbatim. That is not the same as 'speaking English' in the conversational sense, as the above anecdotes confirm.

But of course Frobe is speaking English in the film, or the dubbing simply wouldn't match up, it would be obvious. Could he give the lines any kind of intonation or acting sincerity? Not necessarily, no.

But the a heck of a lot of Bond actors got dubbed back then, Ursurla Andress, Shirley Eaton. There were others, but very well dubbed they were too.

Monsieur Sixte · October 2018

1965 interview with Michael Collins about his dubbing Gert Frobe:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_cont … qqXBc3tRHc

Auric Goldfinger - Gert Frobe (Fröbe)

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