Original artwork, not a still
Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action.
— Goldfinger ‧ 1964
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
It is a villain explaining his own paranoia, and a rule of thumb fans borrow for spotting patterns: one event is luck, two is chance, three means someone is doing it on purpose. It tells you Goldfinger is a man who counts and keeps accounts of everything, which is also how he treats gold. The saying turns up in thrillers, office jokes and conspiracy threads as 'once is happenstance'.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for GoldfingerShow the scene
In Goldfinger (1964), Auric Goldfinger has now crossed paths with Bond three times: in Miami, where Bond spoiled his card game, on the golf links at Royal St George's, and finally in Switzerland, where Bond is caught spying on his factory. Goldfinger tells him they have a saying in Chicago and counts off the three stages. The saying comes from Ian Fleming's 1959 novel, where Fleming used Happenstance, Coincidence and Enemy Action as the titles of the book's three parts.
Sources (2)
- Goldfinger (novel) - WikipediaOpening quotebox and plot headingsReference checked
- Goldfinger (film) - WikiquoteAuric Goldfinger sectionReference checked
Context reviewed
