It’s pretty standard that women in James Bond movies – the proverbial “Bond Girls” – are given dramatic introductions. Just think of Ursula Andress and Halle Berry coming out of the water or Jill St. John traipsing around her Amsterdam apartment in her undies. However, Shirley Eaton’s intro as playgirl Jill Masterson in Goldfinger is pretty special.
Dressed only in black bra and panties, she’s relaxing back to camera on Goldfinger’s Fontainebleu Hotel room balcony, spying thru binoculars on Mr. Simmons’ gin hand. Bond (Sean Connery) surprises her, turns off her radio transmitter and introduces himself ... Bond, James Bond. Soon, she’s sharing a meal at the best place in town – Bond’s own hotel room.
The problem is that 007 underestimates Goldfinger’s wrath, and soon, thanks to Oddjob (Harold Sakata), Jill is murdered by skin suffocation – her entire body covered with glittering gold paint.
It’s the most memorable death in the Bond series – in a film with plenty of memorable deaths.
Eaton said about the shooting of the scene: “I had the gold painted on me with a paintbrush. It was make-up with millions of gold particles in and it took about an hour and a half to apply.”
So let’s raise a rum collins to Ms. Eaton and her wonderful Jill Masterson character. Happy Birthday, Shirley.