20 Things You Didn’t Know About Goldfinger (1964)
10. When I Blow This Whistle...
Originally, Felix Leiter and his colleague, Johnny (Peter Cranwell) were shown explaining the plan to dupe Goldfinger to the troops and residents of Fort Knox, but the scene was deleted to add an element of surprise when they miraculously awaken at the end of the film. The scene was released online years later, but was quickly removed by Eon Productions.
Aircraft had to follow a minimum height restriction of 3,000 feet when flying over Fort Knox, but Guy Hamilton knew that it would be impossible to see the Piper PA-28 Cherokee planes representing Pussy Galore’s Flying Circus onscreen. He therefore had the planes fly at 500 feet above the base, enraging the US Army and requiring the film’s technical adviser, retired US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Charles J. Russhon to diplomatically smooth the rift.
For the sequences in which the troops and civilians collapse (supposedly due to Goldfinger's Delta-Nine nerve gas) as the planes fly over the base, the same group of people were shown falling down pretending to be dead in different locations, taking their cue from Hamilton, who blew a whistle from a helicopter hovering overhead. The extras earned $20 and a beer each for their cooperation.