Pussy Galore

[CalMeacham]

Female character in Ian Fleming’s Goldfinger, later in the movie of the same name, where she was played by Honor Blackman (who had previously played John Steed’s companion on the TV series The Avengers). A lesbian leading a lesbian crime organization in the book. It was implied but not stated in the movie.

The amazing thing, of course, is that name. It reportedly almost got her, or possibly even the entire story, censored. Yet the novel finally got published, despite objections. They didn’t change her name for the Bond film, and they even broadcast it on American TV, starting in the 1970s (It was the first Bond film on US TV).

How? How did they get this name through all the objections? There’s a thin veneer of plausible deniability in that “Pussy” means “cat”, and has actually been a female nickname for a long time, especially in demure circumstances. The Bond novels and movies, though, weren’t those circumstances. They had a tradition of double entendre female character names.

Concerned about censors, the producers thought about changing the character’s name to “Kitty Galore”,[4] but they and Hamilton decided “if you were a ten-year old boy and knew what the name meant, you weren’t a ten-year old boy, you were a dirty little bitch. The American censor was concerned, but we got round that by inviting him and his wife out to dinner and [told him] we were big supporters of the Republican Party.”[5] During promotion, Blackman took delight in embarrassing interviewers by repeatedly mentioning the character’s name.[6] Whilst the American censors did not interfere with the name in the film, they refused to allow the name “Pussy Galore” to appear on promotional materials and for the US market she was subsequently called “Miss Galore” or “Goldfinger’s personal pilot”.[7]

Goldfinger (film)

The name invariably lends itself to parody. Mike Myer’s Austin Powers movies gave us Alotta Fagina, and alan Moore’s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier has Mina diverting a character who is clearly supposed to be James Bond by telling him her name is “Oodles” O’Quim. (“He didn’t bat an eye,” she says later. "He must meet up with women with names like that all the time.)

Less salaciously, the leader of the cats in the CGI-assisted movie Cats and Dogs 2 has the name the producers of Goldfinger thought about using, Kitty Galore (voiced by Bette Midler). In the Mad magazine omnibus James Bond parody, she’s named Tushy Galore (But if you search for that name, you find a lot of porn, I’ve found)

[terentii]

I didn’t get the “Alotta Fagina” joke (i.e., I didn’t see the connection with “Pussy Galore”) until I translated it into Russian for someone: “It means … OH, SHIT!” :eek: DUH! :smack:

[CalMeacham]

In “The Spy who Minced in from the Cold”, a Bond parody by Stanley Reynolds that appeared in Punch in 1975 there was a CIA agent named Fanny Devine, apparently a nod to Pussy Galore.

Bond Strikes Camp - again

[terentii]

@CalMeacham

In “The Spy who Minced in from the Cold”, a Bond parody by Stanley Reynolds that appeared in Punch in 1975 there was a CIA agent named Fanny Devine, apparently a nod to Pussy Galore.

JAMES BOND MEMES: Bond Strikes Camp - again

For the uninitiated, “fanny” is British slang for “pussy,” not “ass.” Before I learned this, I inadvertently created some confusion while drinking in a pub in Scotland. :o

[Arkcon]

One of the meany James Bond books I read did mention consternation over the “Pussy Galore” name, and studio execs wanting to change it. Anyway, the production did sort of a press junket to promote the film, and had Honour Blackman meet that dashing bachelor about town, Charles, Prince of Wales. Newspaper titles were written – “the Prince and the Pussy.” There was no backlash, the execs were satisfied, and the film got to keep her name.*

I’ve mentioned in other threads that I don’t see an obvious lesbian angle IN THE DIALOG OF THE FILM. Ahem. Please.

An all female squadron, “turn off the charm, I’m immune” and the ilk don’t scream lesbian to me. Femminazi? Yeah, sure. Or just a tough woman pissed of at systematic cultural injustice and men just can’t tell the difference? Sure, I’ll play along. “I must have appealed to her maternal instincts.” I didn’t get that reference. Bond basically forced himself on her and she switched sides – I mean, switched from Goldfinger’s/Chinese terrorist side to US/UK/Bond’s side, not the coveted team-switch. Or was that a veiled, “I am REALLY good at tit sucking foreplay.”

Heck, years later, Octopussy had an all female island. I thought it was all girls being girls. Zomg, an island of lesbians?!?! Urm, its a Bond film, not a porno, so, no, I didn’t see those out-takes. And I didn’t put any in with my own imagination.

*IIRC, it was during the press junket of “A view to a kill” that Princess Di got to smash a fake bottle on Charles’ head." Well, boy, the Royals do take their job of endorsing British exports seriously, don’t they? Or perhaps that was art imitating life, and we didn’t know it then.

[CalMeacham]

@Arkcon

I’ve mentioned in other threads that I don’t see an obvious lesbian angle IN THE DIALOG OF THE FILM. Ahem. Please.

.

The essence of deniability is that you never explicitly say what you’re implying. Judging from much of the contemporary commentary, Pussy and her Flying Circus certainly “read” as lesbians to a lot of viewers, and that surely wasn’t unintentional. Especially considering that it’s quite explicit in the book. and this was just before even mentioning lesbianism in movies was considered acceptable.

[Just_Asking_Questions]

@Arkcon

Heck, years later, Octopussy had an all female island. I thought it was all girls being girls. Zomg, an island of lesbians?!?! Urm, its a Bond film, not a porno, so, no, I didn’t see those out-takes. And I didn’t put any in with my own imagination.

Wait Is Octopussy supposed to be on an implied Isle of Lesbos?

because I never got that. Hmm, Maybe I was too “woke” back then. I thought they were just people. Women who made money doing illegal things.

No one accuses Blofeld of having a army of he-man women hating henchman*, why should an all woman organization be so stigmatized?
*Except for Mr. Kidd and Mr. Wint. That’s what makes them different - they were obvious. Not wink-wink-nudge-nudge.

[aceplace57]

Wasn’t that long ago that pussy could mean a cat.

It was a running joke in Are You Being Served, Mrs Slocombe was always worried about her dear pussy. It wasn’t feeling well.

[Exapno_Mapcase]

Wikipedia says, “One of Fleming’s neighbours in Jamaica, and later his lover, was Blanche Blackwell, mother of Chris Blackwell of Island Records; Fleming used Blanche as the model for Pussy Galore, although the name “Pussy” came from Mrs “Pussy” Deakin, formerly Livia Stela, an SOE agent and friend of his wife’s.”

Since the Brits use fanny in place of pussy, how dirty did the name seem to the original British readers?

I checked newspaper reviews from 1959. Not one American paper wrote the words “Pussy Galore.” “Miss Galore,” bowdlerized one. Of course, one also wrote “Jim Bond.” One wonders about Fleming’s reaction to that!

Newspapers had no such inhibitions in 1964 when writing about the film. I guess Philip Larkin was right.

[CalMeacham]

@Exapno_Mapcase

Wikipedia says, “One of Fleming’s neighbours in Jamaica, and later his lover, was Blanche Blackwell, mother of Chris Blackwell of Island Records; Fleming used Blanche as the model for Pussy Galore, although the name “Pussy” came from Mrs “Pussy” Deakin, formerly Livia Stela, an SOE agent and friend of his wife’s.”

Since the Brits use fanny in place of pussy, how dirty did the name seem to the original British readers?

I checked newspaper reviews from 1959. Not one American paper wrote the words “Pussy Galore.” “Miss Galore,” bowdlerized one. Of course, one also wrote “Jim Bond.” One wonders about Fleming’s reaction to that!

Newspapers had no such inhibitions in 1964 when writing about the film. I guess Philip Larkin was right.

From the accounts I’ve read, it was “dirty” enough to cause hemming and hawing and concern. It wasn’t trivial.

I’ll also note that, even though “fanny” is much more suggestive to the British, they still used it as a both a given name and a nickname for “Frances”, and you had Fanny Adams, Fanny Hertz, Fanny Brough, and a slew of other Fannys. It is, I suppose, similar having “Dick” as a nickname today, but maybe a bit more questionable.

[Voyager]

Pussy was hardly the only double entendre Bond character name. The Lana Wood character in Diamonds are Forever is named Plenty O’Toole. Connery says “named after your father, no doubt” to her.

And fanny pack must have a totally different meaning in England.

[RealityChuck]

@CalMeacham

From the accounts I’ve read, it was “dirty” enough to cause hemming and hawing and concern. It wasn’t trivial.

I’ll also note that, even though “fanny” is much more suggestive to the British, they still used it as a both a given name and a nickname for “Frances”, and you had Fanny Adams, Fanny Hertz, Fanny Brough, and a slew of other Fannys. It is, I suppose, similar having “Dick” as a nickname today, but maybe a bit more questionable.

You could name a movie “Fanny” in 1961. I see no indication the name was changed for the UK, despite the fact the word was mildly risque even in the US.

[CalMeacham]

@Voyager

Pussy was hardly the only double entendre Bond character name. The Lana Wood character in Diamonds are Forever is named Plenty O’Toole. Connery says “named after your father, no doubt” to her.

And fanny pack must have a totally different meaning in England.

They call them “Bum Bags”

You could name a movie “Fanny” in 1961. I see no indication the name was changed for the UK, despite the fact the word was mildly risque even in the US.

My point exactly.

[Musicat]

@RealityChuck

You could name a movie “Fanny” in 1961. I see no indication the name was changed for the UK, despite the fact the word was mildly risque even in the US.

Fanny was an all-girl US rock band in 1972.

[BrotherCadfael]

"In the history of very bad decisions: the answer to the question, ‘What would you like to name your new daughter, Mr. Galore?’ "

[CalMeacham]

@BrotherCadfael

"In the history of very bad decisions: the answer to the question, ‘What would you like to name your new daughter, Mr. Galore?’ "

Why?

She was successful with that name, wasn’t she?

Worth her weight in publicity, it was.

[Kent_Clark]

@Arkcon

One of the meany James Bond books I read did mention consternation over the “Pussy Galore” name, and studio execs wanting to change it. Anyway, the production did sort of a press junket to promote the film, and had Honour Blackman meet that dashing bachelor about town, Charles, Prince of Wales. Newspaper titles were written – “the Prince and the Pussy.” There was no backlash, the execs were satisfied, and the film got to keep her name.*

I’ve mentioned in other threads that I don’t see an obvious lesbian angle IN THE DIALOG OF THE FILM. Ahem. Please.

An all female squadron, “turn off the charm, I’m immune” and the ilk don’t scream lesbian to me. . .

I went with my parents to see Goldfinger, and judging by my father’s deep chuckling at both Ms. Blackman’s introduction, “I’m Pussy Galore,” as well as the sign on the aircraft hangar reading “Pussy Galore’s Flying Circus,” he was getting subtexts all over the place.

I don’t recall my mother’s reaction. Discussion of the movie was cut short when we came out of the theater, my father turned on the car radio, and heard the bulletin that Malcolm X had been murdered.

[Kamino_Neko]

@CalMeacham

How? How did they get this name through all the objections? There’s a thin veneer of plausible deniability in that “Pussy” means “cat”, and has actually been a female nickname for a long time, especially in demure circumstances. The Bond novels and movies, though, weren’t those circumstances. They had a tradition of double entendre female character names.

Goldfinger was only the third Bond movie (ignoring the TV version of Casino Royale), and From Russia With Love didn’t do it, unless I’m entirely missing a joke in Tatiana Romanova’s name, so the tradition wasn’t that well established for those who hadn’t read the books.

[Exapno_Mapcase]

@Voyager

And fanny pack must have a totally different meaning in England.

It took me a long time after reading Fanny Hill to realize that the title is the vulgar translation of mons veneris.

[Morbo]

@Arkcon

I’ve mentioned in other threads that I don’t see an obvious lesbian angle IN THE DIALOG OF THE FILM. Ahem. Please.

An all female squadron, “turn off the charm, I’m immune” and the ilk don’t scream lesbian to me. Femminazi? Yeah, sure. Or just a tough woman pissed of at systematic cultural injustice and men just can’t tell the difference? Sure, I’ll play along. “I must have appealed to her maternal instincts.” I didn’t get that reference. Bond basically forced himself on her and she switched sides – I mean, switched from Goldfinger’s/Chinese terrorist side to US/UK/Bond’s side, not the coveted team-switch. Or was that a veiled, “I am REALLY good at tit sucking foreplay.”

Heck, years later, Octopussy had an all female island. I thought it was all girls being girls. Zomg, an island of lesbians?!?! Urm, its a Bond film, not a porno, so, no, I didn’t see those out-takes. And I didn’t put any in with my own imagination.

Rosa Klebb was even more obviously a lesbian in the previous film. Kinda hard to interpret the scene differedntly when she has Tatiana take off her jacket and turn around, smiling lecherously, then instructs Tatiana to seduce Bond, then acts all seductive towards her and says “You’re very fortunate to have been chosen for such a simple, delightful duty - a real labor of love” while she rubs her shoulders and Tatiana recoils from her.