You’ve seen the title sequence to Goldfinger, the third film in the James Bond 007 cinematic canon. But it’s always worth another look:

Margaret Nolan was the model upon whose form the clips were projected. The images are scenes from previous Bond movies as well as Goldfinger itself. Nolan was an actress and pinup model who also appeared in the movie, but she didn’t play the girl who asphyxiates from gold paint. Nolan played Dink, a masseuse — according to her website, Nolan only consented to do the title sequence if she was also given a part in the movie. We meet Dink early in the film; she’s working her magic on Bond when his contact arrives…

There’s a brief introduction…

And Bond dismisses her with the line, “Run along dear, man talk,” and a slap on the ass…

Ah, those were different times.

But back to that title sequence — below are a bunch of what the Museum of Modern Art calls “preparatory” shots. The shoot was a complex one — Nolan says it took “two or three weeks” all told — so it makes sense that there would be some trial and error on the way to making the final product. You may notice in these pictures that Nolan’s bikini is more revealing than the one used in the movie. These were shot by Herbert Spencer and included in the MoMA’s 2013 exhibition Goldfinger: The Design of an Iconic Film Title.

We mentioned that Nolan doesn’t play the woman who is fatally painted gold in the film. But she was called upon to recreate that scene. Here’s a shot of a nude Nolan assuming the position:

That photo was used for the poster, soundtrack album cover and other promotional materials:

And the Bond Girl who does die of asphyxiation? That was Jill Masterson, played by Shirley Eaton. Here are some archival shots from ShirleyEaton.net — as you can see, her physique is quite different from Nolan’s. And contrary to urban legend, Eaton did not die during the filming of the famous scene. She’s alive and well, though she hasn’t made a movie since 1969’s The Girl From Rio.

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