Auric Goldfinger mining magnate Charles W. Engelhard, Jr. In 2003, the American Film Institute declared Auric Goldfinger the 49th greatest villain in the past 100 years of film. In a poll on IMDb, Auric Goldfinger was voted the most sinister James Bond villain, beating out in order Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Dr. No, Max Zorin and Emilio Largo. Auric Goldfinger was played by German actor Gert Fröbe. Fröbe, who did not speak English well, was dubbed in the film by Michael Collins, an English actor. In the German version, Fröbe dubbed himself back again. "Goldfinger" was banned in Israel after it was revealed
Goldfinger (film) Court, producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman turned to "Goldfinger" as the third Bond film. "Goldfinger" had what was then considered a large budget of $3 million (US$ million in dollars), the equivalent of the budgets of "Dr. No" and "From Russia with Love" combined, and was the first Bond film classified as a box-office blockbuster. "Goldfinger" was chosen with the American cinema market in mind, as the previous films had concentrated on the Caribbean and Europe. Terence Young, who directed the previous two films, chose to film "The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders" instead, after a pay dispute