Original artwork, not a still
Do you expect me to talk? / No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!
— Goldfinger • 1964
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
It is the Bond villain's calling card: the hero asks the question every captured spy asks, and the villain refuses the cliché, because he does not need information, only a corpse. The line shows how the formula turned the death trap into theatre. It has been parodied for decades, most famously by Austin Powers, and every later Bond villain who explains his plan instead of pulling the trigger is answering this one.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for GoldfingerShow the scene
In Goldfinger (1964), Sean Connery's Bond is strapped to a solid-gold table in Auric Goldfinger's factory in Switzerland, where he has tailed him from England, while an industrial laser creeps along the metal towards him. Bond asks if Goldfinger expects him to talk, and Goldfinger, laughing, says he expects him to die. Bond only survives by bluffing about Operation Grandslam and a fellow agent, 008, who will carry on the mission. In Fleming's novel the threat was a buzz saw; the film's writers swapped in the then-new laser.
Sources (2)
- Wikiquote: Goldfinger (film)Bond / Goldfinger exchange at the laser tableReference checked
- James Bond Wiki: Goldfinger (film)Plot summary, laser scene, and Behind the Scenes notesReference checked
Context reviewed
