Exhibition James Bond in Ursern - On the tracks of Goldfinger opens in Switzerland

A special exhibition James Bond in Ursern - On the tracks of Goldfinger has opened its doors in Switzerland.

With this exhibition, the Ursern Valley Museum is not only presenting unique photos and exhibits to the general public that have never been exhibited before, but also showing the weekly newsreels that went missing from the filming of the Goldfinger Alpine sequence in Switzerland.

James Bond in Ursern - On the tracks of Goldfinger exhibition

The BP petrol station from the filming location in Andermatt, is seen here as a 1:1 model.

Compare the gas station from the film (top) and the model in the exhibition

There are also original documents, letters, exhibits and costumes that round off the exhibition perfectly.

Photos, letters and lot of backgrond information at the 'James Bond in Ursern - On the tracks of Goldfinger' exhibition

The cardigan worn by Goldfinger director Guy Hamilton is the actual cardigan, on loan from the Hamilton family.

Director Guy Hamilton's original cardigan sweater on display

A replica of the outfit by Sean Connery as James Bond was provided my Mason & Sons. It consists of an Anthony Sinclair hacking jacket and cavalry twill trousers. These items can still be found at Mason & Sons (read more).

Replica of Bond's Goldfinger outfit, provided by Mason & Sons

A replica outfit from Tania Mallet (Tilly Masterson), with a similar belt and shirt as seen in the film.

The belt is a Collier de Chien belt by Hermès, and she wears a toggle bracelet with Queen Victoria amulet by Tiffany's.

An AR-7 rifle, similar to the one used in the film, and signed by Tania Mallet, is also on display, provided by Bond fan Nguyen-Dien Nguyen.

Sean Connery was wearing Persol 828 sunglasses on set in Switzerland. The glasses are unfortunately not seen in the film. A similar pair is on display at the exhibition.

Anotheer great prop is this Aston Martin DB5 ejector seat switch.

Goldfinger, the third adventure in the Bond film series, was a game changer back in 1964 and sparked a worldwide James Bond fever. The film fitted perfectly with the historical and social realities of the sixties. The role of Switzerland in the film and the perception of the country in the world at that time were almost synonymous - and that wasn’t exactly positive.

Filming under the conditions that prevailed in July 1964 would be simply unthinkable today for a production of such dimensions. The whole shoot was largely unshielded, took place in public and could be viewed and documented by journalists at their leisure. The hotel staff or local assistants were practically part of the film crew, and tourists who happened to be present mingled undeterred.

Erich Nager, the young boy that was seen in the Goldfinger movie, now holding the Goldfinger book at the exhibition

Under these circumstances a masterpiece of popular culture was created, and it is exactly these circumstances that make this exhibition and the exhibits, film and image material so special. The Swiss photographers Hans Gerber of Comet-Photo AG Zürich, Josef Ritler of the tabloid newspaper Blick and the German film journalist Erich Kocian practically covered the whole eight days with their photographic work. In addition, there are private photographs of hotel employees in the accommodation of the film crew, which they took as souvenirs and have now made them available after all this time.

With the help of the book The Goldfinger Files - The Making of the Iconic Alpine Sequence in the James Bond Movie Goldfinger, by Steffen Appel  and Peter Waelty.

James Bond in Ursern – On the tracks of GOLDFINGER
Special exhibition
Talmuseum, Ursern
Gotthardstrasse 113, 6490 Andermatt, Switzerland

http://www.museum-ursern.ch/

The exhibition is open from:
March 3rd to April 11th, 2021 (Wednesday to Sunday, 16h00-18h00)

June 16th to October 16th, 2021 (Wednesday to Saturday, 16h00-18h00)