Goldfinger pre-title sequence
Encyclopedia
The Goldfinger pre-title sequence is the opening to Goldfinger
. Based on a scene in Ian Fleming
's original novel, the curtain raiser
establishes the mood of the film that was quite different to the book. Though taking place in Mexico
, it was filmed in Pinewood Studios
and the Esso
Refinery in Stanwell
, Middlesex
.
's gun barrel sequence and The James Bond Theme, the camera sweeps from an oil refinery
to a wall then to a harbour. The camera follows a floating seagull as it floats to shore to reveal it is a stuffed bird that camouflages a snorkel on James Bond
's (Sean Connery
) head. He removes it than advances to the wall dressed in a black rubber dry suit
wearing a backpack
.
Accompanied by John Barry
's Bond Back in Action Again
, Bond pulls out an air gun
firing a grappling hook
that allows him to scale the wall with "RAMIREZ EXPORT CO" painted on the side. Bond knocks a guard unconscious then advances to one of the oil storage tanks which he feels for a hidden switch on the side revealing a door. Inside the storage tank is a futuristic circular set designed by Ken Adam
featuring laboratory equipment and plants. Bond is wearing a long rubber tube wrapped around his dry suit that is filled with plastic explosive
. He squeezes the contents of the tube onto some drums marked "Nitroglycerin", then removes a timing device and a pencil detonator
from his backpack that he connects to the explosives.
Bond leaves his backpack inside the room, exits and removes his dry suit revealing a neatly pressed white dinner jacket, then adds a red carnation
to his lapel.
He enters a nightclub where a woman named Bonita (Nadja Regin
) is dancing. As Bond lights a cigarette and looks at his Rolex Submariner
wristwatch the audience sees an explosion that is the result of Bond's mission and John Stears
' special effects.
As the crowd in the nightclub go to the exit to see the explosion, Bond has a conversation with a contact at a bar; the first dialogue in the sequence. The contact congratulates him remarking that Mr Ramirez and his friends are out of business. Bond replies that they will no longer be financing revolution with "heroin-flavoured bananas". The contact tells Bond not to go back to his hotel room and that a plane will take him to Miami in an hour. Bond says he has unfinished business.
He rejoins Bonita, who is having a bath. Bond enters, throws Bonita a towel, and removes his jacket revealing his Walther PPK
in a shoulder holster. He embraces Bonita, who complains that the butt of the pistol hurts her. Bond apologises and removes the shoulder holster placing it over her bath. Bonita asks him why he wears it; Bond replies he has an inferiority complex
.
As Bond kisses Bonita, her towel falls to the floor. Bonita watches as a Mexican thug called Capungo (Alf Joint
) creeps up on them attempting to use a cosh on Bond. Bond sees the thug's reflection in Bonita's eye and whirls her around to receive the force of the blow.
A fight arranged by Bob Simmons
where Simmons also doubles for Connery follows, ending with Capungo being thrown into the bath. Capungo reaches for Bond's PPK in the shoulder holster hanging over the bath. Bond quickly grabs an electric heater and throws it into the tub electrocuting
a screaming Capungo.
Bond replaces his shoulder holster and jacket commenting "Shocking...positively shocking" as John Barry's theme song—sung by Shirley Bassey
over Robert Brownjohn
's title design—appears.
says the sequence could stand alone as a short film; "almost a complete Bond epic in itself. All of the well known elements of a Bond film appear - exotic locales, secret weapon
s, impressive sets, beautiful women and well choreographed action accompanied by dry wit
. All of this is accomplished by Eon Productions
' team of Richard Maibaum
and Paul Dehn
's screenplay, Ted Moore
's cinematography, Peter R. Hunt
's editing, John Barry
's music, John Stears
' special effects, Bob Simmons
action sequences, Norman Wanstall's sound effects, Ken Adam
's sets, direction by Guy Hamilton
and Sean Connery
as James Bond
.
Brian Dunbar comments that the sequence signals a foregrounding of technology with a tongue in cheek approach, establishes Bond's character and informs the audience that though exciting, it is not a serious film.
came across an account of a Dutch
MI6 agent named Peter Tazelaar who infiltrated Nazi-occupied Netherlands
by swimming ashore in a dry suit covering his evening clothes. Duns interviewed director Guy Hamilton
, who had been a Motor Torpedo Boat
officer in World War II
and had landed Dutch SOE
agents into the Netherlands, as he thought it may have based on one of his missions. Hamilton said the agents he brought to shore were dressed as farm labourers and did not know of Tazelaar. Duns believed that co-screenwriter Paul Dehn
, who had been a senior instructor in SOE during the war, may have adapted the incident for the script having heard about Tazelaar's daring operation in British intelligence circles.
's original novel's opening chapter, "Reflections in a Double Bourbon", begins with Bond ruminating on an assignment in Mexico. Scotland Yard
's Criminal Investigation Department
seeks the help of the Secret Intelligence Service
to find out where a drug courier
named Schwab gets his heroin from and to destroy the source at once. Bond is assigned to fly to Mexico City
posing as a buyer of heroin. He discovers an Englishman
named Blackwell who uses a fertilizer
plant as a cover to extract heroin from opium
. Bond destroys the warehouse with a thermite
bomb and warns Blackwell by telephone that his operation is finished.
Blackwell's Mexican business partner sends a man called a "Capungo" to kill Bond. Fleming describes a Capungo as a bandit who will kill for as little as 40 peso
s. The Capungo accosts Bond in a street near his hotel and pulls a knife, but Bond kills the Capungo with his bare hands. Bond flies out of Mexico on the first plane out, going to first to Caracas
and then to Miami.
This passage explains that Bond dislikes killing, but resigns himself to it because it is part of his job. Whenever he does kill someone, he forgets about it as soon as possible; he thinks that regret is unprofessional, and a "death-watch beetle in the soul".
Goldfinger (film)
Goldfinger is the third spy film in the James Bond series and the third to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1964, it is based on the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. The film also stars Honor Blackman as Bond girl Pussy Galore and Gert Fröbe as the title...
. Based on a scene in Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
's original novel, the curtain raiser
Curtain raiser (drama)
A curtain raiser is a performance, stage act, show, actor or performer that opens a show for the main attraction. The term is derived from the act of raising the stage curtain...
establishes the mood of the film that was quite different to the book. Though taking place in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, it was filmed in Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a major British film studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, approximately west of central London. The studios have played host to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows to commercials to pop promos.The purchase of Shepperton...
and the Esso
Esso
Esso is an international trade name for ExxonMobil and its related companies. Pronounced , it is derived from the initials of the pre-1911 Standard Oil, and as such became the focus of much litigation and regulatory restriction in the United States. In 1972, it was largely replaced in the U.S. by...
Refinery in Stanwell
Stanwell
Stanwell is a suburban village in the Surrey borough of Spelthorne. It is located 15.7 miles west south-west of Charing Cross and half a mile from the southern boundary of London Heathrow Airport and the London Borough of Hillingdon...
, Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
.
Plot
Following Maurice BinderMaurice Binder
Maurice Binder was a film title designer best known for his work on 14 James Bond films including the first, Dr. No in 1962 and for Stanley Donen's films from 1958. He was born in New York City, USA, but mostly worked in Britain from the 1950s onwards...
's gun barrel sequence and The James Bond Theme, the camera sweeps from an oil refinery
Oil refinery
An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where crude oil is processed and refined into more useful petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt base, heating oil, kerosene, and liquefied petroleum gas...
to a wall then to a harbour. The camera follows a floating seagull as it floats to shore to reveal it is a stuffed bird that camouflages a snorkel on James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
's (Sean Connery
Sean Connery
Sir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...
) head. He removes it than advances to the wall dressed in a black rubber dry suit
Dry suit
A dry suit or drysuit provides thermal insulation or passive thermal protection to the wearer while immersed in water, and is worn by divers, boaters, water sports enthusiasts, and others who work or play in or near cold water. A dry suit normally protects the whole body except the head, hands, and...
wearing a backpack
Backpack
A backpack is, in its simplest form, a cloth sack carried on one's back and secured with two straps that go over the shoulders, but there can be exceptions...
.
Accompanied by John Barry
John Barry (composer)
John Barry Prendergast, OBE was an English conductor and composer of film music. He is best known for composing the soundtracks for 12 of the James Bond films between 1962 and 1987...
's Bond Back in Action Again
Goldfinger (soundtrack)
Goldfinger is the soundtrack for the 3rd James Bond film of the same name.This is the first of three James Bond films with a theme song sung by Shirley Bassey, whose forceful, dramatic style became a trademark of the series...
, Bond pulls out an air gun
Air gun
An air gun is a rifle , pistol , or shotgun that fires projectiles by means of compressed air or other gas, in contrast to a firearm, which burns a propellant. Most air guns use metallic projectiles as ammunition. Air guns that only use plastic projectiles are classified as airsoft...
firing a grappling hook
Grappling hook
A grappling hook is an anchor with multiple hooks , attached to a rope; it is thrown, dropped, sunk, projected, or fastened directly by hand to where at least one hook may catch and hold. Generally, grappling hooks are used to temporarily secure one end of a rope. They may also be used to dredge...
that allows him to scale the wall with "RAMIREZ EXPORT CO" painted on the side. Bond knocks a guard unconscious then advances to one of the oil storage tanks which he feels for a hidden switch on the side revealing a door. Inside the storage tank is a futuristic circular set designed by Ken Adam
Ken Adam
Sir Kenneth Adam, OBE, born Klaus Hugo Adam , is a motion picture production designer most famous for his set designs for the James Bond films of the 1960s and 1970s.-Childhood in Germany:...
featuring laboratory equipment and plants. Bond is wearing a long rubber tube wrapped around his dry suit that is filled with plastic explosive
Plastic explosive
Plastic explosive is a specialised form of explosive material. It is a soft and hand moldable solid material. Plastic explosives are properly known as putty explosives within the field of explosives engineering....
. He squeezes the contents of the tube onto some drums marked "Nitroglycerin", then removes a timing device and a pencil detonator
Pencil detonator
A pencil detonator or time pencil is a time fuze designed to be connected to a detonator or short length of safety fuse. They are about the same size and shape as a pencil, hence the name. They were introduced during World War II.- No. 10 delay switch :...
from his backpack that he connects to the explosives.
Bond leaves his backpack inside the room, exits and removes his dry suit revealing a neatly pressed white dinner jacket, then adds a red carnation
Carnation
Dianthus caryophyllus is a species of Dianthus. It is probably native to the Mediterranean region but its exact range is unknown due to extensive cultivation for the last 2,000 years. It is the wild ancestor of the garden carnation.It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 80 cm tall...
to his lapel.
He enters a nightclub where a woman named Bonita (Nadja Regin
Nadja Regin
Nadja Regin is a Yugoslavian actress from Niš, Nadja Regin is a [[Yugoslavia]]n [[actress]] from [[Niš]], Nadja Regin is a [[Yugoslavia]]n [[actress]] from [[Niš]], [[Serbia]...
) is dancing. As Bond lights a cigarette and looks at his Rolex Submariner
Rolex Submariner
The Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner is a line of watches manufactured by Rolex, designed for diving and known for their resistance to water. The first Submariner was introduced to the public in 1954 at the Swiss Watch Fair...
wristwatch the audience sees an explosion that is the result of Bond's mission and John Stears
John Stears
John Stears known as 'the Dean of Special Effects' and 'The Real Q' was an Academy Award winning special effects expert, who created James Bond's lethal Aston Martin DB5, Luke Skywalker's Landspeeder, the Jedi Knights' lightsabers, the endearing robots R2-D2 and C-3PO as well as a host of other...
' special effects.
As the crowd in the nightclub go to the exit to see the explosion, Bond has a conversation with a contact at a bar; the first dialogue in the sequence. The contact congratulates him remarking that Mr Ramirez and his friends are out of business. Bond replies that they will no longer be financing revolution with "heroin-flavoured bananas". The contact tells Bond not to go back to his hotel room and that a plane will take him to Miami in an hour. Bond says he has unfinished business.
He rejoins Bonita, who is having a bath. Bond enters, throws Bonita a towel, and removes his jacket revealing his Walther PPK
Walther PPK
The Walther PP series pistols are blowback-operated semi-automatic pistols.They feature an exposed hammer, a double-action trigger mechanism, a single-column magazine, and a fixed barrel which also acts as the guide rod for the recoil spring...
in a shoulder holster. He embraces Bonita, who complains that the butt of the pistol hurts her. Bond apologises and removes the shoulder holster placing it over her bath. Bonita asks him why he wears it; Bond replies he has an inferiority complex
Inferiority complex
An inferiority complex, in the fields of psychology and psychoanalysis, is a feeling that one is inferior to others in some way. Such feelings can arise from an imagined or actual inferiority in the afflicted person...
.
As Bond kisses Bonita, her towel falls to the floor. Bonita watches as a Mexican thug called Capungo (Alf Joint
Alf Joint
Alf Joint was a British movie and television stunt performer, stunt coordinator and arranger....
) creeps up on them attempting to use a cosh on Bond. Bond sees the thug's reflection in Bonita's eye and whirls her around to receive the force of the blow.
A fight arranged by Bob Simmons
Bob Simmons (stunt man)
Bob Simmons was an English actor and stunt man, best known for his work in many British made films, most notably the James Bond series.-Biography:...
where Simmons also doubles for Connery follows, ending with Capungo being thrown into the bath. Capungo reaches for Bond's PPK in the shoulder holster hanging over the bath. Bond quickly grabs an electric heater and throws it into the tub electrocuting
Electrocution
Electrocution is a type of electric shock that, as determined by a stopped heart, can end life. Electrocution is frequently used to refer to any electric shock received but is technically incorrect; the choice of definition varies from dictionary to dictionary...
a screaming Capungo.
Bond replaces his shoulder holster and jacket commenting "Shocking...positively shocking" as John Barry's theme song—sung by Shirley Bassey
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...
over Robert Brownjohn
Robert Brownjohn
Robert Brownjohn was a graphic designer known for blending formal graphic design concepts with wit and sixties pop culture...
's title design—appears.
Commentary
In his work James Bond in the Cinema, author John BrosnanJohn Brosnan
John Raymond Brosnan was an Australian writer of both fiction and non-fiction works based around the fantasy and science fiction genres. He was born in Perth, Western Australia, and died in South Harrow, London, from acute pancreatitis...
says the sequence could stand alone as a short film; "almost a complete Bond epic in itself. All of the well known elements of a Bond film appear - exotic locales, secret weapon
Secret weapon
A secret weapon is either a concealed weapon, or a weapon that is not officially confirmed by the owner.In terms of large-scale weapons, a secret weapon may refer to a newly-designed or invented weapon that the government denies the existence of...
s, impressive sets, beautiful women and well choreographed action accompanied by dry wit
Wit
Wit is a form of intellectual humour, and a wit is someone skilled in making witty remarks. Forms of wit include the quip and repartee.-Forms of wit:...
. All of this is accomplished by Eon Productions
EON Productions
Eon Productions is a film production company known for producing the James Bond film series. The company is based in London's Piccadilly and also operates from Pinewood Studios in the United Kingdom...
' team of Richard Maibaum
Richard Maibaum
Richard Maibaum was an American film producer, playwright and screenwriter best known for his adaptations of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels....
and Paul Dehn
Paul Dehn
Paul Dehn was a British screenwriter.-Biography and work:Dehn was born in 1912 in Manchester, England. He was educated at Shrewsbury School, and attended Brasenose College, Oxford...
's screenplay, Ted Moore
Ted Moore
Ted Moore, B.S.C. was a cinematographer and camera operator on nearly fifty films, and is probably most famous for his work on seven of the James Bond films in the 1960s and early 1970s.-Biography:...
's cinematography, Peter R. Hunt
Peter R. Hunt
Peter R. Hunt was an English film editor, television producer and director. Hunt was known for his work on the James Bond films with his innovative editing style.-Career:...
's editing, John Barry
John Barry (composer)
John Barry Prendergast, OBE was an English conductor and composer of film music. He is best known for composing the soundtracks for 12 of the James Bond films between 1962 and 1987...
's music, John Stears
John Stears
John Stears known as 'the Dean of Special Effects' and 'The Real Q' was an Academy Award winning special effects expert, who created James Bond's lethal Aston Martin DB5, Luke Skywalker's Landspeeder, the Jedi Knights' lightsabers, the endearing robots R2-D2 and C-3PO as well as a host of other...
' special effects, Bob Simmons
Bob Simmons (stunt man)
Bob Simmons was an English actor and stunt man, best known for his work in many British made films, most notably the James Bond series.-Biography:...
action sequences, Norman Wanstall's sound effects, Ken Adam
Ken Adam
Sir Kenneth Adam, OBE, born Klaus Hugo Adam , is a motion picture production designer most famous for his set designs for the James Bond films of the 1960s and 1970s.-Childhood in Germany:...
's sets, direction by Guy Hamilton
Guy Hamilton
Guy Hamilton is an English film director.Hamilton was born in Paris, France where his English parents were living. Remaining in France during the Nazi occupation, he was active in the French Resistance...
and Sean Connery
Sean Connery
Sir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...
as James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
.
Brian Dunbar comments that the sequence signals a foregrounding of technology with a tongue in cheek approach, establishes Bond's character and informs the audience that though exciting, it is not a serious film.
The dry suit
The original draft of Richard Maibaum's shooting script began with James Bond already in a bar. When researching some material for a spy novel, author Jeremy DunsJeremy Duns
Jeremy Duns is a British author currently residing in Stockholm, Sweden.He grew up mainly in Africa and Asia and attended St Catherine's College, Oxford, after which he worked as a journalist...
came across an account of a Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
MI6 agent named Peter Tazelaar who infiltrated Nazi-occupied Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
by swimming ashore in a dry suit covering his evening clothes. Duns interviewed director Guy Hamilton
Guy Hamilton
Guy Hamilton is an English film director.Hamilton was born in Paris, France where his English parents were living. Remaining in France during the Nazi occupation, he was active in the French Resistance...
, who had been a Motor Torpedo Boat
Motor Torpedo Boat
Motor Torpedo Boat was the name given to fast torpedo boats by the Royal Navy, and the Royal Canadian Navy.The capitalised term is generally used for the Royal Navy boats and abbreviated to "MTB"...
officer in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and had landed Dutch SOE
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
agents into the Netherlands, as he thought it may have based on one of his missions. Hamilton said the agents he brought to shore were dressed as farm labourers and did not know of Tazelaar. Duns believed that co-screenwriter Paul Dehn
Paul Dehn
Paul Dehn was a British screenwriter.-Biography and work:Dehn was born in 1912 in Manchester, England. He was educated at Shrewsbury School, and attended Brasenose College, Oxford...
, who had been a senior instructor in SOE during the war, may have adapted the incident for the script having heard about Tazelaar's daring operation in British intelligence circles.
Novel
Ian FlemingIan Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
's original novel's opening chapter, "Reflections in a Double Bourbon", begins with Bond ruminating on an assignment in Mexico. Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
's Criminal Investigation Department
Criminal Investigation Department
The Crime Investigation Department is the branch of all Territorial police forces within the British Police and many other Commonwealth police forces, to which plain clothes detectives belong. It is thus distinct from the Uniformed Branch and the Special Branch.The Metropolitan Police Service CID,...
seeks the help of the Secret Intelligence Service
Secret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. Alongside the internal Security Service , the Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence Intelligence , it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence...
to find out where a drug courier
Mule (smuggling)
A mule or courier is someone who smuggles something with him or her across a national border, including bringing in to and out of an international plane, especially a small amount, transported for a smuggling organization. The organizers employ mules to reduce the risk of getting caught...
named Schwab gets his heroin from and to destroy the source at once. Bond is assigned to fly to Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
posing as a buyer of heroin. He discovers an Englishman
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
named Blackwell who uses a fertilizer
Fertilizer
Fertilizer is any organic or inorganic material of natural or synthetic origin that is added to a soil to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants. A recent assessment found that about 40 to 60% of crop yields are attributable to commercial fertilizer use...
plant as a cover to extract heroin from opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
. Bond destroys the warehouse with a thermite
Thermite
Thermite is a pyrotechnic composition of a metal powder and a metal oxide that produces an exothermic oxidation-reduction reaction known as a thermite reaction. If aluminium is the reducing agent it is called an aluminothermic reaction...
bomb and warns Blackwell by telephone that his operation is finished.
Blackwell's Mexican business partner sends a man called a "Capungo" to kill Bond. Fleming describes a Capungo as a bandit who will kill for as little as 40 peso
Peso
The word peso was the name of a coin that originated in Spain and became of immense importance internationally...
s. The Capungo accosts Bond in a street near his hotel and pulls a knife, but Bond kills the Capungo with his bare hands. Bond flies out of Mexico on the first plane out, going to first to Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
and then to Miami.
This passage explains that Bond dislikes killing, but resigns himself to it because it is part of his job. Whenever he does kill someone, he forgets about it as soon as possible; he thinks that regret is unprofessional, and a "death-watch beetle in the soul".