10 Times James Bond Films Were Better Than The Books

6. Operation Grand Slam

Whilst we’re talking about Goldfinger, let’s just look at the plot as a whole. For the most part, the two are more or less identical, with the titular villain’s plan involving raiding Fort Knox for his own personal gain. But it’s the outcome of that raid and his gain where the two versions of Goldfinger differ.

In the book, Goldfinger simply wants to break into Fort Knox to take all the gold. That’s it. He just wants more gold. In the film, it is revealed to both the audience and Bond that Goldfinger has no intention of taking the gold. Instead, he wants to set off a dirty bomb and coat the gold in radiation.

Demand would go up, and Goldfinger would more or less have a monopoly on the gold trading industry.

The best thing about this is before the reveal, Bond is under the impression that Goldfinger wants to steal the gold and takes great pleasure in explaining why the plan wouldn’t work, with their being too much gold to take before he would be apprehended. In other words, the same reasons the plot of the book was faulted. Master stroke from the writers to re-hash Operation Grand Slam and make it what Bond calls ‘an inspired deal’.