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Pussy Galore (James Bond)
Encyclopedia
Pussy Galore is a fictional character
from the James Bond
film and novel Goldfinger. In the film, she is played by Honor Blackman
. As with many of Ian Fleming
's creations, the name is a double entendre
; in this case with respect to pussy, which is another word for cat, or is a slang term for vagina
, while galore
means an abundant or plentiful supply of something.
Blanche Blackwell, a Jamaican of Anglo-Jewish descent, was considered the love of Fleming's later life and formed his model for Pussy Galore.
who runs an organized crime
gang. Initially trapeze
artists, her group of performing cat-women, "Pussy Galore and her Abrocats," were unsuccessful and were later trained as cat burglars.
Her group grew into a Harlem
lesbian
organization known as "The Cement Mixers". Pussy Galore is herself a lesbian. In the novel, she has black hair, pale skin and the only violet eyes Bond has ever seen. She is in her thirties, her voice low and attractive. Pussy explains to Bond that she became a lesbian after she was sexually abused by her uncle at the age of 12.
Her group is enlisted by Auric Goldfinger
to aid in "Operation Grand Slam", an operation that would poison the Fort Knox
water supply with a water-borne nerve agent (GB, also called sarin
), and, if successful, would use a stolen nuclear weapon
to blow open and rob the U.S. Bullion Depository at Fort Knox of one billion dollars in gold bullion. Goldfinger enlists the Cement Mixers because he needs a group of women to impersonate nurses in the fake emergency medical teams he plans to send into the poison-stricken Fort Knox.
After Bond and Felix Leiter
foil "Grand Slam", Galore runs into Bond while impersonating a stewardess on Goldfinger's hijacked escape flight to the Soviet Union
(which carries his remaining fortune in gold), and Bond is drugged by a fake vaccination and kidnapped to join Goldfinger on the plane, where Goldfinger is determined to kill him at last. However, Bond punctures the window of the airplane with a knife (causing Goldfinger's henchman Oddjob to be sucked out and plunge to his death), then tackles Goldfinger; Bond strangles him in the ensuing struggle. Bond forces the crew of the airplane to reverse course, and when they run out of fuel and are required to ditch the gold-heavy craft in the ocean, Bond and Pussy are the only ones who manage to escape to a life raft. It is hinted at the end of the novel that Pussy is sent to prison, as she says to Bond, "Will you write to me in Sing Sing
?"
Pussy's backstory is suppressed in the movie, while her sexuality
is never openly discussed; traits of lesbianism are subtly suggested (though not without plausible deniability
) throughout the film.
Her original band of Amazonian catwomen still appear in the film, although remade into small-aircraft pilots.
. Blackman and Diana Rigg
are the only two Bond girls who are older than Bond himself; Sean Connery
was only 34 when filming Goldfinger, Blackman was 36. Rigg was 31 when filming On Her Majesty's Secret Service
opposite the then 30-year-old George Lazenby
. Pussy ranked second in a poll of favourite Bond Girl
s in 2007, beaten only by Ursula Andress
' character Honey Rider.
Pussy is first seen after Bond wakes up in Goldfinger's private
jet after previously having been knocked out with a tranquilizer
gun by Goldfinger. Her stunning blonde-framed visage leaning over him being the first thing he sees as he lies on a couch regaining consciousness, the dialog runs as follows:
She further explains simply that the nature of her employment for Goldfinger is that she's "a damn good pilot", intending to negate any notion of any more intimate relationship, and then tells Bond, "You can turn off the charm. I'm immune." She is the leader of Pussy Galore's Flying Circus, a group of professional women aviators in connection with Goldfinger's "Operation Grand Slam" (played in certain scenes by stuntmen in blonde wigs). Pussy is seen later using judo
on Bond after catching him eavesdropping on Goldfinger's plan. She turns him in to Goldfinger.
Later on, Bond seduces the previously "immune" Pussy, and she secretly turns against Goldfinger; she alerts the Central Intelligence Agency
of her employer's scheme, and they help her switch the deadly nerve gas to be sprayed over Fort Knox by her aviators with a harmless replacement (the soldiers below appear to die, but are actually faking).
After Bond foils Goldfinger's plan, the now-fugitive millionaire forces Pussy to participate in hijacking the President's private plane carrying Bond to the White House
, intending to hijack it to Cuba
. Bond defeats Goldfinger (who suffers Oddjob's fate in the novel when he is blown out the window at high altitude). Bond saves Pussy from the crashing plane, as they both bail out (this is shown only on radar), and they make love in an unknown tropical region, under a parachute.
Honor Blackman, in the Bond Girls Are Forever
documentary, mentions she knows that Galore was written as a lesbian, and played the role as if she had been abused
in the past.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the 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,...
film and novel Goldfinger. In the film, she is played by Honor Blackman
Honor Blackman
Honor Blackman is an English actress, known for the roles of Cathy Gale in The Avengers and Bond girl Pussy Galore in Goldfinger .-Early life:...
. As with many of 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 creations, the name is a double entendre
Double entendre
A double entendre or adianoeta is a figure of speech in which a spoken phrase is devised to be understood in either of two ways. Often the first meaning is straightforward, while the second meaning is less so: often risqué or ironic....
; in this case with respect to pussy, which is another word for cat, or is a slang term for vagina
Vagina
The vagina is a fibromuscular tubular tract leading from the uterus to the exterior of the body in female placental mammals and marsupials, or to the cloaca in female birds, monotremes, and some reptiles. Female insects and other invertebrates also have a vagina, which is the terminal part of the...
, while galore
Galore
Galore: The Singles 1987-1997 is the second singles compilation by The Cure. It contains singles from the years 1987–1997. The song "Wrong Number" is the only new song on the album.-Track listing:#"Why Can't I Be You?" – 3:14#"Catch" – 2:45...
means an abundant or plentiful supply of something.
Blanche Blackwell, a Jamaican of Anglo-Jewish descent, was considered the love of Fleming's later life and formed his model for Pussy Galore.
Novel
In the novel, Pussy Galore is the only known woman in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
who runs an organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
gang. Initially trapeze
Trapeze
A trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes or metal straps from a support. It is an aerial apparatus commonly found in circus performances...
artists, her group of performing cat-women, "Pussy Galore and her Abrocats," were unsuccessful and were later trained as cat burglars.
Her group grew into a Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
organization known as "The Cement Mixers". Pussy Galore is herself a lesbian. In the novel, she has black hair, pale skin and the only violet eyes Bond has ever seen. She is in her thirties, her voice low and attractive. Pussy explains to Bond that she became a lesbian after she was sexually abused by her uncle at the age of 12.
Her group is enlisted by Auric Goldfinger
Auric Goldfinger
Auric Goldfinger is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the James Bond film and novel Goldfinger. His first name, Auric, is an adjective meaning of gold...
to aid in "Operation Grand Slam", an operation that would poison the Fort Knox
Fort Knox
Fort Knox is a United States Army post in Kentucky south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown. The base covers parts of Bullitt, Hardin, and Meade counties. It currently holds the Army Human Resources Center of Excellence to include the Army Human Resources Command, United States Army Cadet...
water supply with a water-borne nerve agent (GB, also called sarin
Sarin
Sarin, or GB, is an organophosphorus compound with the formula [2CHO]CH3PF. It is a colorless, odorless liquid, which is used as a chemical weapon. It has been classified as a weapon of mass destruction in UN Resolution 687...
), and, if successful, would use a stolen nuclear weapon
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
to blow open and rob the U.S. Bullion Depository at Fort Knox of one billion dollars in gold bullion. Goldfinger enlists the Cement Mixers because he needs a group of women to impersonate nurses in the fake emergency medical teams he plans to send into the poison-stricken Fort Knox.
After Bond and Felix Leiter
Felix Leiter
Felix Leiter is a fictional CIA agent created by Ian Fleming in the James Bond series of novels and films. In both, Leiter works for the CIA and assists Bond in his various adventures as well as being his best friend. In further novels Leiter joins the Pinkerton Detective Agency and in the film...
foil "Grand Slam", Galore runs into Bond while impersonating a stewardess on Goldfinger's hijacked escape flight to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
(which carries his remaining fortune in gold), and Bond is drugged by a fake vaccination and kidnapped to join Goldfinger on the plane, where Goldfinger is determined to kill him at last. However, Bond punctures the window of the airplane with a knife (causing Goldfinger's henchman Oddjob to be sucked out and plunge to his death), then tackles Goldfinger; Bond strangles him in the ensuing struggle. Bond forces the crew of the airplane to reverse course, and when they run out of fuel and are required to ditch the gold-heavy craft in the ocean, Bond and Pussy are the only ones who manage to escape to a life raft. It is hinted at the end of the novel that Pussy is sent to prison, as she says to Bond, "Will you write to me in Sing Sing
Sing Sing
Sing Sing Correctional Facility is a maximum security prison operated by the New York State Department of Correctional Services in the town of Ossining, New York...
?"
Pussy's backstory is suppressed in the movie, while her sexuality
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
is never openly discussed; traits of lesbianism are subtly suggested (though not without plausible deniability
Plausible deniability
Plausible deniability is, at root, credible ability to deny a fact or allegation, or to deny previous knowledge of a fact. The term most often refers to the denial of blame in chains of command, where upper rungs quarantine the blame to the lower rungs, and the lower rungs are often inaccessible,...
) throughout the film.
Her original band of Amazonian catwomen still appear in the film, although remade into small-aircraft pilots.
Film
Concerned about censors, the film's producers thought about changing her name to "Kitty Galore", but kept the original name when British newspapers began to refer to Honor Blackman as "Pussy" in the lead up to production. Connery also noticeably pronounces her first name as "Poo-shee", possibly also a bow to censors. She is the oldest actress to play a Bond GirlBond girl
A Bond girl is a character or actress portraying a love interest, of James Bond in a film, novel, or video game. They occasionally have names that are double entendres or puns, such as "Pussy Galore", "Plenty O'Toole", "Xenia Onatopp", or "Holly Goodhead"...
. Blackman and Diana Rigg
Diana Rigg
Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg, DBE is an English actress. She is probably best known for her portrayals of Emma Peel in The Avengers and Countess Teresa di Vicenzo in the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service....
are the only two Bond girls who are older than Bond himself; 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...
was only 34 when filming Goldfinger, Blackman was 36. Rigg was 31 when filming On Her Majesty's Secret Service
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (film)
On Her Majesty's Secret Service is the sixth spy film in the James Bond series, based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. Following the decision of Sean Connery to retire from the role after You Only Live Twice, Eon Productions selected an unknown actor and model, George Lazenby...
opposite the then 30-year-old George Lazenby
George Lazenby
George Robert Lazenby is an Australian actor and former model, best known for portraying James Bond in the 1969 film On Her Majesty's Secret Service.-Early life:...
. Pussy ranked second in a poll of favourite Bond Girl
Bond girl
A Bond girl is a character or actress portraying a love interest, of James Bond in a film, novel, or video game. They occasionally have names that are double entendres or puns, such as "Pussy Galore", "Plenty O'Toole", "Xenia Onatopp", or "Holly Goodhead"...
s in 2007, beaten only by Ursula Andress
Ursula Andress
Ursula Andress is a Swiss actress and a sex symbol of the 1960s. She is known for her roles as Bond girl Honey Ryder in Dr...
' character Honey Rider.
Pussy is first seen after Bond wakes up in Goldfinger's private
jet after previously having been knocked out with a tranquilizer
Tranquilizer
A tranquilizer, or tranquilliser , is a drug that induces tranquility in an individual.The term "tranquilizer" is imprecise, and is usually qualified, or replaced with more precise terms:...
gun by Goldfinger. Her stunning blonde-framed visage leaning over him being the first thing he sees as he lies on a couch regaining consciousness, the dialog runs as follows:
She further explains simply that the nature of her employment for Goldfinger is that she's "a damn good pilot", intending to negate any notion of any more intimate relationship, and then tells Bond, "You can turn off the charm. I'm immune." She is the leader of Pussy Galore's Flying Circus, a group of professional women aviators in connection with Goldfinger's "Operation Grand Slam" (played in certain scenes by stuntmen in blonde wigs). Pussy is seen later using judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
on Bond after catching him eavesdropping on Goldfinger's plan. She turns him in to Goldfinger.
Later on, Bond seduces the previously "immune" Pussy, and she secretly turns against Goldfinger; she alerts the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
of her employer's scheme, and they help her switch the deadly nerve gas to be sprayed over Fort Knox by her aviators with a harmless replacement (the soldiers below appear to die, but are actually faking).
After Bond foils Goldfinger's plan, the now-fugitive millionaire forces Pussy to participate in hijacking the President's private plane carrying Bond to the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, intending to hijack it to Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. Bond defeats Goldfinger (who suffers Oddjob's fate in the novel when he is blown out the window at high altitude). Bond saves Pussy from the crashing plane, as they both bail out (this is shown only on radar), and they make love in an unknown tropical region, under a parachute.
Honor Blackman, in the Bond Girls Are Forever
Bond Girls Are Forever
Bond Girls Are Forever is a 2002 James Bond documentary film hosted by actress Maryam d'Abo, who had played the role of Kara Milovy in the 15th James Bond film The Living Daylights. It was accompanied by a 2003 book written by John Cork and d'Abo. The book is subtitled The Women of James Bond...
documentary, mentions she knows that Galore was written as a lesbian, and played the role as if she had been abused
Child abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
in the past.
Cultural references
- The 1997 parody film Austin Powers: International Man of MysteryAustin Powers: International Man of MysteryAustin Powers: International Man of Mystery is a 1997 American science fiction/action-comedy film and the first film of the Austin Powers series. It was directed by Jay Roach and written by Mike Myers who also stars in the title role. Myers also plays Dr. Evil, Austin Powers' arch-enemy...
features a character named Alotta Fagina in an apparent reference to Galore (and perhaps also to the many other double-entendre named Bond girls, such as OctopussyOctopussyOctopussy is the thirteenth entry in the James Bond series, and the sixth to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film's title is taken from a short story in Ian Fleming's 1966 short story collection Octopussy and The Living Daylights...
and Holly GoodheadHolly GoodheadDr. Holly Goodhead is a fictional character from the James Bond franchise, portrayed by Lois Chiles. She does not appear in any of the novels, solely appearing in the film version of Moonraker. However, her character is somewhat similar to Gala Brand, who is the female lead character in the...
.) - Jon Spencer's second band took the name Pussy GalorePussy Galore (band)Pussy Galore was an American garage rock band that formed in Washington, D.C. in 1985. They had a constantly fluid line-up until their demise in 1990. Like many garage rock outfits, they were dogged by substance abuse problems...
- In the song "Happy New Year A" in Jonathan LarsonJonathan LarsonJonathan Larson was an American composer and playwright noted for the serious social issues of multiculturalism, addiction, and homophobia explored in his work. Typical examples of his use of these themes are found in his works, Rent and tick, tick... BOOM!...
's RentRent (musical)Rent is a rock musical with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème...
, Angel Schunard pretends to be Pussy Galore. - Kitty Galore as the villain in the film Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty GaloreCats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty GaloreCats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore is a 2010 family action comedy film directed by Brad Peyton. The film stars Chris O'Donnell and Jack McBrayer. The film also stars the voices of James Marsden, Nick Nolte, Christina Applegate, Katt Williams, Bette Midler, and Neil Patrick Harris...
, which includes many other James Bond references. - The RootsThe RootsThe Roots is an American hip hop/neo soul band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are famed for beginning with a jazzy, eclectic approach to hip hop which still includes live instrumentals...
have a song called "Pussy Galore" from their album PhrenologyPhrenology (album)Phrenology is the fifth studio album by American hip hop band The Roots, released November 26, 2002, on Geffen Records and MCA Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during June 2000 to September 2002...
. - In the Nintendo 64Nintendo 64The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
video game, GoldenEye 007, one of the control padGamepadA gamepad , is a type of game controller held in two hands, where the digits are used to provide input. Gamepads generally feature a set of action buttons handled with the right thumb and a direction controller handled with the left...
settings is named "Galore" (with other settings bearing the names of Bond Girls such as "Honey", "GoodheadHolly GoodheadDr. Holly Goodhead is a fictional character from the James Bond franchise, portrayed by Lois Chiles. She does not appear in any of the novels, solely appearing in the film version of Moonraker. However, her character is somewhat similar to Gala Brand, who is the female lead character in the...
", "SolitaireSolitaire (James Bond)Solitaire is a fictional character in the James Bond novel and film Live and Let Die. In the film, she was portrayed by Jane Seymour. At the age of 22, Jane Seymour became the youngest actress ever to play a Bond girl at the time .-Novel biography:In a relative rarity for the James Bond franchise,...
", etc.). - In a 2011 episode of the ABC series Better with You titled "Better with Crying", Vicky Putney (Debra Jo RuppDebra Jo RuppDebra Jo Rupp is an American film and television actress, perhaps best known for her role as Kitty Forman on the long-running Fox sitcom, That '70s Show...
) comments that she feels like a "Bond Girl". Maddie and Vicky then list James Bond's various love interests in previous 007 films. Ben Coles (Josh CookeJosh Cooke-Biography:Cooke was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and attended Harriton High School, a small public high school in Rosemont, a suburb of Philadelphia. He was a member of Harriton Theater Company and directed a show his senior year. He has received acting awards including the James Pendleton...
), the boyfriend of Vicky's daughter Maddie (Jennifer FinniganJennifer FinniganJennifer Christina Finnigan is a 3-time Daytime Emmy Award winning Canadian actress, perhaps best known for her role as Bridget Forrester in the American soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful from 2000 to 2004. She appeared in the ABC sitcom Better with You.-Biography:Finnigan was born in Montreal...
) calls out "Pussy Galore". Not realizing that Pussy Galore is the name of a Bond Girl, Maddie and Vicky are disgusted by the comment.