[Bond and M are dining with Colonel Smithers, the Governor of the Bank of England]
We here, at the Bank of England, Mr. Bond, are the official depository for gold bullion. [Smithers' butler, Brunskill, approaches the dining table with a box of cigars] Just as Fort Knox, Kentucky, is for the United States. [During this line, Brunskill offers M a cigar] We know, of course, uh...the amounts we each hold; we know the amounts deposited in other banks; and we can estimate what is being held for industrial purposes. [Brunskill crosses to Bond] Then this enables the two governments to establish, respectively, the true value of the dollar and the pound. And consequently, we are vitally concerned with unauthorised leakages. [Bond refuses the cigar offer; Brunskill crosses to Colonel Smithers]
I take it you mean smuggling.
[Embarrassed]
Yes. [During this line, he selects a cigar from the box] Gold, gentlemen, which can be melted down and recast, is virtually untraceable... [He hands the cigar to Brunskill, who cuts it during the next line] ...which makes it, unlike diamonds, ideal for smuggling... [Brunskill hands the cigar back to him] ...attracting the biggest and most ingenious criminals. [To Brunskill; quietly] Thank you, Brunskill. That'll be all.
Thank you, sir. [He bows and leaves, carrying the cigar box]
[Leans forward, picks up the brandy decanter]
Have a little more of this...rather disappointing brandy. [Hands it to Bond]
[Studying the decanter as Colonel Smithers removes the ring from his cigar]
I'd say it was a 30-year-old fine, indifferently blended, sir... [removes the topper, smells the brandy] ...with an overdose of bon-bois.
[Blows out the match he used to light his cigar]
Gentlemen, Mr. Goldfinger has gold bullion on deposit in Zurich, Amsterdam, Caracas and Hong Kong... [thinks briefly] ...worth £20 million. Most of it came from this country.
[Takes the decanter]
Because the price of gold varies from country to country. [Sets it down on his right] You buy it here, at $30 an ounce, you can sell it in, say, Pakistan, at $110, and triple your money. [M smells the brandy] Providing, of course, you have the facilities for...melting it down.
And has he?
[While M, cigar in mouth, puts the brandy decanter stopper back in and sets the decanter on the table]
Apart from being a legitimate bullion dealer, Mr. Goldfinger poses... [pause] er no, that's not quite fair...is, among his many other interests, a legitimate international jeweller. He's legally entitled to operate modest metallurgical installations; his British one is down in Kent. As yet, we have failed to discover how he transfers his gold overseas...and Lord knows we've tried! [Leans forward; to M] If your department can establish that it is done illegally, then the Bank could institute proceedings to recover the bulk of his holdings.
I think it's time Mr. Goldfinger and I... met. Socially, of course.
I...was hoping you would say that. [Stands up and walks off]
It might lead to a business talk - Mr. Goldfinger's business.
I'll need some kind of bait.
I quite agree. [Returns to the table, carrying something wrapped in green] This is the only one we have, from the Nazi hoard at the bottom of Lake Toplitz in the Salzkammergut, but there are undoubtedly others. [Sets the object down, unwraps it. It is a gold bar, bearing a Nazi swastika and eagle. As he sits down] Mr. Bond can make whatever use of it he sees fit - providing he returns it, of course. [To Bond as he reaches for his glass] It's worth £5,000.
