Kurt Wolf
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Pussy Galore is a fictional character in the 1959
Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer, best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his ...
James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...
novel '' Goldfinger'' and the 1964 film of the same name. In the film, she is played by
Honor Blackman Honor Blackman (22 August 1925 – 5 April 2020) was an English actress and singer, known for the roles of Cathy Gale in '' The Avengers''Aaker, Everett (2006). ''Encyclopedia of Early Television Crime Fighters''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. ...
. The character returns in the 2015 Bond continuation novel ''
Trigger Mortis ''Trigger Mortis'' is a 2015 James Bond novel written by Anthony Horowitz, and commissioned by the estate of Bond's creator Ian Fleming, which was published on 8 September 2015. Plot The book is set in 1957 against the backdrop of the Space R ...
'' by
Anthony Horowitz Anthony John Horowitz (born 5 April 1955) is an English novelist and screenwriter specialising in mystery and suspense. His works for children and young adult readers include the '' Alex Rider'' series featuring a 14-year-old British boy who spi ...
, set in the 1950s, two weeks after the events of ''Goldfinger''.
Blanche Blackwell Blanche Blackwell (; 9 December 1912 – 8 August 2017) was a Jamaican heiress, mother of Chris Blackwell, and an inspirational muse to Ian Fleming and Noël Coward. Early life Blanche Lindo was born on 9 December 1912 in San José, Costa R ...
, a Jamaican of Anglo-
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
descent, is thought to have been the love of Fleming's later life and his model for Pussy Galore.


Appearances


Fleming novel

In
Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer, best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his ...
's 1959 novel '' Goldfinger'', Pussy Galore is the only woman in the United States known to be running an
organized crime Organized crime is a category of transnational organized crime, transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a f ...
gang. Initially
trapeze A trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes, metal straps, or chains, from a ceiling support. It is an aerial apparatus commonly found in circus performances. Trapeze acts may be static, spinning (rigged from a single point), swinging or ...
artists, her group of performing catwomen, "Pussy Galore and her Abrocats", is unsuccessful, so the women train as
cat burglar Burglary, also called breaking and entering (B&E) or housebreaking, is a property crime Property crime is a category of crime, usually involving private property, that includes, among other crimes, burglary, larceny, theft, motor vehicle theft ...
s instead. Her group evolves into an all-
lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...
organization, based in
Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...
, known as the Cement Mixers. In the novel, she has black hair, pale skin, and (according to Bond) the only violet eyes that
James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...
has ever seen. She is in her 30s, and her voice is low and attractive. Born into poverty in the rural
Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...
, she fell into
juvenile delinquency Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is the act of participating in unlawful behavior younger than the statutory age of majority. These acts would be considered crimes if the individuals committing them were older. The term ...
. Attempting to go straight, she joined the
circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...
and became an acrobat. Pussy tells Bond that she became a lesbian after she was
sexually abused Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. It often consists of a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is r ...
by her uncle at the age of 12.
Auric Goldfinger Auric Goldfinger is a fictional character and the main antagonist in Ian Fleming's 1959 seventh ''James Bond'' novel, '' Goldfinger'', and the 1964 film it inspired (the third in the ''James Bond'' series). His first name, Auric, is an adjective ...
enlists the help of Pussy and her Cement Mixers to carry out "Operation Grand Slam", a scheme to kill all the soldiers guarding
Fort Knox Fort Knox is a United States Army installation in Kentucky, south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Elizabethtown. It is adjacent to the United States Bullion Depository (also known as Fort Knox), which is used to house a larg ...
by poisoning their water supply with a water-borne nerve agent (GB, also called
sarin Sarin (NATO designation GB nerve_agent#G-series.html" ;"title="hort for nerve agent#G-series">G-series, "B" is an extremely toxic organophosphorus compound.nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear exp ...
he had purchased from a quartermaster storekeeper at an Allied military base in Germany for a million dollars to blow open the
United States Bullion Depository The United States Bullion Depository, often known as Fort Knox, is a fortified bank vault, vault building located next to the United States Army post of Fort Knox, Kentucky. It is operated by the United States Department of the Treasury. The v ...
and contaminate the one billion dollars of gold stored there with the nuclear bomb to make it radioactive, which will vastly increase the value of his gold holdings. Goldfinger chooses the Cement Mixers because he needs a group of women to impersonate the nurses in the fake emergency medical teams he plans to send into the poison-stricken Fort Knox. After Bond and
Felix Leiter Felix Leiter is a fictional character created by Ian Fleming in the ''James Bond'' books, films, and other media. The character is an operative for the CIA and James Bond's friend. After losing a leg and a hand to a shark attack, Leiter joined ...
foil "Grand Slam", Galore runs into Bond while impersonating a stewardess on Goldfinger's hijacked escape flight to the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
(which carries his remaining fortune in gold). Bond, having previously been drugged by a fake vaccination, has been kidnapped and transported onto the plane to join Goldfinger, who is determined to kill him at last. However, Bond punctures one of the aircraft's windows with a knife (causing Goldfinger's henchman
Oddjob Oddjob (often written as "Odd Job") is a fictional character in the espionage novels and films featuring James Bond. He is a henchman to the villain Auric Goldfinger in Ian Fleming's 1959 James Bond novel '' Goldfinger'' and its 1964 film adap ...
to be blown out and plunge to his death), then tackles Goldfinger, and in the ensuing struggle, kills him. Bond then forces the crew of the plane to reverse course. When the gold-heavy craft runs out of fuel, and the crew must ditch it in the ocean, Bond and Pussy are the only ones who manage to escape into a life raft. The end of the novel hints that Pussy is sent to prison, as she says to Bond, "Will you write to me in
Sing Sing Sing Sing Correctional Facility is a maximum-security prison for men operated by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision in the village of Ossining (village), New York, Ossining, New York, United States. It is abou ...
?" Her original Amazonian catwomen appear as characters in the film, but as small-aircraft
aerobatic Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aeroplane" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and gl ...
pilots rather than trapeze artists.


Authorized sequel by Anthony Horowitz

The character returned in ''
Trigger Mortis ''Trigger Mortis'' is a 2015 James Bond novel written by Anthony Horowitz, and commissioned by the estate of Bond's creator Ian Fleming, which was published on 8 September 2015. Plot The book is set in 1957 against the backdrop of the Space R ...
'' a 2013 novel by
Anthony Horowitz Anthony John Horowitz (born 5 April 1955) is an English novelist and screenwriter specialising in mystery and suspense. His works for children and young adult readers include the '' Alex Rider'' series featuring a 14-year-old British boy who spi ...
, authorized by the Fleming estate. The story takes place in the 1950s, two weeks after the events of ''Goldfinger''. It contains previously unreleased material by Fleming.


Film

In the film, Pussy Galore (
Honor Blackman Honor Blackman (22 August 1925 – 5 April 2020) was an English actress and singer, known for the roles of Cathy Gale in '' The Avengers''Aaker, Everett (2006). ''Encyclopedia of Early Television Crime Fighters''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. ...
) is first seen when James Bond (
Sean Connery Sir Thomas Sean Connery (25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to Portrayal of James Bond in film, portray the fictional British secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in motion pic ...
) wakes up in Auric Goldfinger's (
Gert Fröbe Karl Gerhart "Gert" Fröbe (; 25 February 1913 – 5 September 1988) was a German actor. He was known in English-speaking countries for his work as the title character in the James Bond film '' Goldfinger'', as Peachum in ''The Threepenny Opera ...
) private jet, having been knocked out with a
tranquiliser A sedative or tranquilliser is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or excitement. They are central nervous system (CNS) depressants and interact with brain activity, causing its deceleration. Various kinds of sedatives ca ...
gun by Kisch (
Michael Mellinger Michael Andreas Mellinger (30 May 1929 – 17 March 2004) was a German actor in film, television, theatre and radio. He was best known for his appearances on the West End and supporting role in the film '' Goldfinger'' (1964). Biography Born ...
), a Goldfinger henchman. He is lying on a couch when he regains consciousness, and since the first thing he sees when he opens his eyes is her stunning blonde-framed visage leaning over him, the dialogue runs as follows: : Galore is the leader of Pussy Galore's Flying Circus, a group of women aviators connected with Goldfinger's "Operation Grand Slam" (played in certain scenes by stuntmen in blonde wigs). In a later scene, Galore uses
judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...
to attack Bond after she catches him eavesdropping on Goldfinger's plan, and turns him over to Goldfinger. However, Bond corners Galore in a barn and forcibly holds her down and kisses her. She initially tries to fight him off, but as he overpowers her, she eventually succumbs. She then secretly turns against Goldfinger; she alerts the
Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
to her employer's scheme, and they help her replace the deadly nerve gas that Goldfinger is planning to have her aviators spray over Fort Knox with a different, harmless substance. Having foiled Goldfinger's plan, Bond boards the President's private plane to travel to the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
. Goldfinger, now a fugitive, forces Galore to participate in hijacking the plane to force the pilot to fly him to
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
. However, Bond defeats Goldfinger by shooting out the plane's window and causing him to be sucked out of the plane at high altitude and to plunge to his death. Bond then saves Galore from the crashing plane: they both bailout and land safely in an unidentified tropical region, and are presumed to have sex under their parachute.


Reception

Pussy ranked second in a poll of favourite
Bond girl A Bond girl is a character who is a love interest, female companion or (occasionally) an adversary of James Bond in a novel, film, or video game. Bond girls occasionally have names that are double entendres or sexual puns, such as Plenty O' ...
s by ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' in 2007, beaten only by
Ursula Andress Ursula Andress (born 19 March 1936) is a Swiss actress and former model who has appeared in American, British, and Italian films. Her breakthrough role was as Bond girl Honey Ryder in the first James Bond film, '' Dr. No'' (1962). She later star ...
' character
Honey Ryder Honeychile Rider is a fictional character in Ian Fleming's James Bond novel '' Dr. No''. In the 1962 Bond film of the same title, her name was shortened and spelled Honey Ryder. In the film, she is played by Swiss actress Ursula Andress, with ...
from '' Dr. No'' (1962).
Yahoo! Movies Yahoo! Movies (formerly Upcoming Movies), provided by the Yahoo! network, was home to a large collection of information on movies, past and new releases, trailers and clips, box office information, and showtimes and movie theater information. Ya ...
had her name included in the 2012 list of the best Bond girl names, calling it "The most famous Bond Girl name, and also the rudest — U.S. censors almost cut it from ''Goldfinger''." Elisabeth Ladenson wrote that she is one of "two memorable lesbians" from Fleming's Bond novels (the other being
Rosa Klebb Colonel Rosa Klebb is a fictional character, the main antagonist in the James Bond From Russia, with Love (novel), 1957 novel and From Russia with Love (film), 1963 film ''From Russia with Love'', in which she is played by Lotte Lenya. She was ...
).


In popular culture

The 1997 parody film '' Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery'' features a character named Alotta Fagina (
Fabiana Udenio Fabiana Udenio (born December 21, 1964) is an Italian-Argentine actress. Born in Argentina to Italian parents, she grew up in Rome. She may be best known for her role as Alotta Fagina in '' Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery'' and for p ...
), in an apparent reference to Galore and other Bond girls with salacious names. The
Rolex Rolex () is a Swiss watch brand and manufacturer based in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1905 as ''Wilsdorf and Davis'' by German businessman Hans Wilsdorf and his eventual brother-in-law Alfred Davis in London, the company registered ''Rolex ...
GMT-Master reference 6542 is nicknamed "Pussy Galore", as the movie character wears this particular watch.


References


Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Galore, Pussy Bond girls Bond villains Goldfinger (film) Fictional aviators Literary characters introduced in 1959 Fictional female gangsters Fictional lesbians Fictional trapeze artists LGBTQ villains Fictional LGBTQ characters in literature Action film villains Fictional victims of child sexual abuse