Pussy Galore - Am the only one?
superado
Regent's Park West (CaliforniaPosts: 2,652MI6 Agent
Is it just me? I think that the Pussy Galore character has been too highly revered in Bond fandom. With all respect due to Honor Blackman as an individual and professional, she did nothing for me in the sex appeal department. To me, she came across like a gangster Moneypenny. For the mantle of Golfinger top-babe, I liked Jill Masterson a lot more although she was chiefly a sex object.
"...the purposeful slant of his striding figure looked dangerous, as if he was making quickly for something bad that was happening further down the street." -SMERSH on 007 dossier photo, Ch. 6 FRWL.....
Comments
I like her smirk and her cool attitude towards Sean Connery--as if to say:"Show me you're good enough for me."They have a terrific onscreen chemistry.She's not only beautiful,Honor's also an excellent actress.Granted,Honor Blackman's not a showgirl type like the lovely Shirley Eaton,but she's an English rose all the same.;)
W.G.
Major Garland Briggs, in TWIN PEAKS
Pussy rules!
I second that notion. Haha...:007)
And I second Jaelle's reply; what else do men live for?
Couldn't have said it better... I LOVE that smirk! Easily Connery's best acting & chemistry partner in the series, their scenes together crackled with intelligence, wit and sex. She was indeed that rare breed, a Bond "woman". I agree there were more conventionally beautiful Bond women but few any better or more interesting.
MBE
I was just waiting to see who the first guy was to reply with something like that!
For this guy, Pussy Galore is definitely that one Bond woman who rules them all. So until next time, make mine Pussy!
Off topic a bit, but doesn't it really p*ss you off when a Bond actress describes her character as being 'an equal with Bond'? I remember Michelle Yeoh saying this before TND came out. OK, it was a strong character, but Bond HAS to be the star and HAS to appear in some way superior to his co star. This isn't a sexist thing, I would say the same about a Lara Croft movie (for example). There is a reason that they are called BOND films.
Back to Pussy..Honor Blackman is a Bond WOMAN, Jill Masterton was a Bond girl. I think there's a difference.
But anyway, on the subject, Pussy rules!!! She was a strong, confident, witty and highly intelligent and well skilled woman. She didn't have to run around in a bikini or pout to exude sexiness and class and she will always be one of my favourite Bond women. That aside, Honor Blackman's attitude to the part is exemplary - making sure she emphasised "Pussy Galore" during US radio interviews back then and being more than happy to share her memories of the part. She was a woman of the nineties in 1964 and stands as the proof that early Bond women were not "bimbos".
I tell you what I'm tired of: hearing every actress say she's going to be different from the other Bond girls/women/females. Enuf already!
Great distinction there. I think it's very much a matter of the actress. Blackman just *oozes* intelligence, class and depth on the screen. Nothing against Eaton but she just came off as a dime-a-dozen model.
(shallow Alex signing off)
MBE
Absolutely right...Nor would these "reporters" willingly see a Bond film--any Bond film in order to research the topic at hand.From their point of view they don't need to.After all,everyone knowsthose Bond movies are all alike anyway--they're much too violent and they're always degrading to women.;)
That's why this current Bond Girl--Whatzername--will rewrite Bond movie history and strike a blow for women everywhere by being the first actress to play a character who's James Bond's equal.Sex object?Oh no!Those bikinis she wears are actually crucial to the movie's storyline and always in the best possible taste.So is her Playboy pictorial.
W.G.
I still think that the irony of her name would have better worked if she was a vamp who flaunts but is ultimately unattainable to the (general) male populace, like some tease from Greek mythology. A sidenote here is how Fleming wrote in egocentric chauvanism into the Bond role who on her own accord suddenly became attractive to Pussy Galore, who on her own accord "switched teams" unlike in the movie in which Bond forced himself on her. To the detriment of rewriting Fleming, the character should have her last name changed to "Emmasculateur."
But aside from that, Pussy Galore is an overall weakness in the film, and this comes from someone who has almost nothing bad to say about GF. Most troubling to me is the ridiculous ease with which Bond can toss her around the hay barn, jump on top of her and convince her to abandon her loyalty to Goldfinger and the riches she would gain from Operation Grand Slam. If you're going to present a woman as no pushover, you have to make Bond work harder to make her see his side of things.
I wonder if without her suggestive name the character would garner nearly as much attention as she has.
Also, let's not forget her sexual preference as the movie implied. This issue of the Bond magic was carried directly from the novel. Wow, I wonder if James Bond's sexual magnetism and prowess can "cure" any lesbian and set her straight.
He merely planted a seed of doubt. I'd like to think Galore couldn't come to grips with murdering hundreds of soldiers. The "how they'd know" million dollar question was a suprise for everyone. when she switches allegiance later on in the film Bond himself was suprised.
Who says he wasn't working hard? The camera didn't show us everything that went on. I'd like to think Bond put in for overtime.
He made her live up to her name.
but i dont think shes as amazing as shes made out to be.
Superado -- that is an appalling observation (Mods -- we need a smiley that feigns schock).
What are you afraid of anyway? And that's what this is about, isn't it? -- fear. You know Pussy Galore could hurt you. You sense her power and it fills you with anxiety. Better play if safe and go for the little blond Masterson girl. She's not likely to pin you helpless in the haystack.
I too am surprised that some people don't love Pussy. No pun intended. :v It's funny when you come across one of your own posts from years ago. I don't even remember replying to this back in 2003, but I still feel the same. She's one of my favorites, and to me is definitely in the top 5 of most memorable.
Pussy Galore was an odd woman for me. The DVD is on the shelf and I would have to put the movie on to say exactly which scene of hers worked and which didn't for me. But I remember at times finding her to be a woman of exceptional beauty and refinments and then a scene or two later she would appear as being nothing more than very ordinary to me.