20 Things You Didn’t Know About Goldfinger (1964)
2. “Do You Expect Me To Talk?” “No, Mr Bond, I Expect You To Die!”
In the original script based on Ian Fleming’s 1959 novel, after being captured by Goldfinger, James Bond was menaced with a circular saw inching towards him. However, the filmmakers decided that the idea was such a cliché that Double-0 Seven was threatened with an industrial laser instead, leading to an iconic scene in the franchise.
When designing Goldfinger’s laser, Ken Adam consulted the same two scientists at Harvard University who had assisted him with Dr. No's nuclear reactor. The resulting laser was able to project a beam of light, but Cliff Culley noted that, when the studio lights on Adam’s soundstage set of Goldfinger’s smelting plant at Pinewood Studios were turned on, the pencil-thin laser beam was rendered invisible.
Therefore, special effects technician, Bert Luxford crouched under the table that Sean Connery was strapped to and used an oxyacetylene torch to cut through it during filming. The Scottish actor's visible discomfort as it burned towards his groin was very real; he even shot several nervous glances at special effects supervisor, John Stears during filming. Culley then added the red laser beam optically to the scenes featuring the laser during post-production.