Character Analysis
Thank You for Being a Friend
Jill Masterson—one half of the Jilly and Tilly sister duo—helps Goldfinger cheat at cards by spying on his opponent's hand and relaying its contents into a wireless radio.
Bond is attracted to Jill from the start because she's a beautiful blonde with a dark streak…but not too dark. Before bringing Jill to his room, he first interrogates her to find out just how close to Goldfinger she really is:
BOND: Is that all he pays you for?
JILL: And for being seen with him.
BOND: Just seen?
JILL: Just seen.
BOND: I'm so glad. You're much too nice to be mixed up in anything like this, don't you know?
Even in the sexually-liberated 1960s, Bond doesn't want any girl "liberated" enough to sleep with Goldfinger.
Bond and Jill have a fun, carefree romp in bed, again representative of the free-lovin' 60s. But to get revenge on Bond, Goldfinger kills Jill by painting her gold, turning her into the infamous "golden girl," and we don't mean Blanche, Dorothy, Rose, or Sophia. Sex and death are potent marketing techniques, and the image of the dead golden girl was a prominent one used to promote Goldfinger.
Ironically, many people thought Shirley Eaton, the actress who played Jill, actually died from being painted gold. She didn't. The filmmakers even left a patch of her skin bare for fear of causing the asphyxiation that killed her character. Not only did she survive filming, Ms. Eaton recreated her golden girl look at age 78. She's a solid-gold dame.