7 replies to this topic

[TheSaint]

I was flipping through channels when I stumbled across this documentary on The History Channel. Unfortunately I missed the first 1/2 hour so I have no idea if Goldfinger was even mentioned. They showed footage from 1974 when reporters and camera crews were allowed in. Obviously it looked nothing like Ken Adam's design. It's a series of locked rooms and the gold is stacked to the ceiling in each of these rooms. They showed recent shots of the exterior. The trees that surrounded the building are gone, there are 3-4 more fences around the structure besides the original fence that was dynamited in the film, and many more guard towers. There are also more updated security systems that they didn't go into detail for the obvious reason. The 2 hour docu was aired twice Monday. I checked and it won't be re-aired at all in July, which is a shame. I'd like to know what they covered in that first 1/2 hour.

[marktmurphy]

The exterior as seen in the film was a set.

[Skudor]

I was flipping through channels when I stumbled across this documentary on The History Channel. Unfortunately I missed the first 1/2 hour so I have no idea if Goldfinger was even mentioned. They showed footage from 1974 when reporters and camera crews were allowed in. Obviously it looked nothing like Ken Adam's design. It's a series of locked rooms and the gold is stacked to the ceiling in each of these rooms. They showed recent shots of the exterior. The trees that surrounded the building are gone, there are 3-4 more fences around the structure besides the original fence that was dynamited in the film, and many more guard towers. There are also more updated security systems that they didn't go into detail for the obvious reason. The 2 hour docu was aired twice Monday. I checked and it won't be re-aired at all in July, which is a shame. I'd like to know what they covered in that first 1/2 hour.

Correct me if I was wrong, but Fort Knox as such doesn't exist anymore. The Gold Standard underpinning world currencies was abolished at some point in the seventies I think. Most central banks don't hold gold anymore.


Edit: I'm wrong. Apparently they still hold 147.3 million ounces.

[TheSaint]

The exterior as seen in the film was a set.

Thanks for pointing out the obvious.

Yes, the exterior in the film was built on the backlot of Pinewood but it looked exactly the same as the real thing. Both the real & fake versions were surrounded by trees and one fence. The trees around the real deal were cut down, the the single fence around the real deal has been supplemented by more fences and guard towers.

[Jeff007]

I was on an exercise at Fort Knox and saw the exterior of the depositry back in 2005. Even had Bullion Road still. At the Patton Museum on the base they had the miniture model of Fort Knox that Sean Connery had his head in while spying on Goldfinger. I'll look for my pictures.

[TheSaint]

I was on an exercise at Fort Knox and saw the exterior of the depositry back in 2005. Even had Bullion Road still. At the Patton Museum on the base they had the miniture model of Fort Knox that Sean Connery had his head in while spying on Goldfinger. I'll look for my pictures.

That's cool!

[Chula]

I remember when they opened Fort Knox to the press for the very first time. I saw the report on New York's "Eyewitness News" and yes, of course, scenes from GOLDFINGER were shown. It was really a comparative piece between the 007 Fort Knox and the real thing. ("Eyewitness News" is on WABC which had the Bond films so it was great cross-promotion.)

The one fact that stood out was how the Fort Knox guys found it funny at the way the gold was piled so high and big in the Bond film. They explained gold is very soft and the gold on top would actually flatten the lower bricks. I also remember being disappointed at how ordinary Fort Knox looked inside. Ken Adam's design was what Fort Knox SHOULD look like.

[Professor Dent]

I remember seeing one of these specials on The History Channel a year or so ago but I believe it was only an hour long show. They did have a Goldfinger mention in that one. The context was that the sets in Goldfinger was how the majority of the public thought Fort Knox looked inside. In reality, it was just a bunch of rooms that had vaults with gold in them.