Pussy Galore is a mafia kingpin who leads the Cement Mixers, a group of female cat burglars operating out of Harlem, New York City. The character appears in the 1959 Ian Fleming novel Goldfinger and was subsequently adapted for the 1964 EON Productions film of the same name, as well as several other appearances. The literary character was later featured in Anthony Horowitz's 2015 continuation novel Trigger Mortis.
Biography[]
Goldfinger[]
Born into poverty in the southern United States, Pussy Galore fell into juvenile delinquency. Attempting to go straight, she joined the circus and became an acrobat. Soon striking out on her own, she recruited other female acrobats and formed a group called "Pussy Galore's Trapeze Flyers", which often performed at carnivals and travelling shows. However, when the business failed, she returned to crime by utilizing their skills for cat burglary. She found success, and her group soon grew into a gang called the "Cement Mixers", operating out of Harlem, New York City. With the American mafia overwhelmingly populated by men, Galore was the only female gang leader in the U.S. to be acknowledged by major gangs; with the Spangled Mob recognizing the skill of Galore's group. However, the Cement Mixers were still regarded as second-rate by many noted gangs. The organisation itself is believed by many to be a lesbian gang, along with its leader, who Miami boss Jed Midnight describes as voraciously obtaining and consuming the girls she desires "in bunches – like grapes". Described as wearing a black masculine-cut suit with a high coffee-coloured lace jabot, Galore had "pale, Rupert Brooke good looks" with high cheekbones, a "beautiful jawline", violet eyes, and black hair worn in an "untidy urchin cut".
Her group is enlisted by SMERSH treasurer Auric Goldfinger to aid in "Operation Grand Slam," disguised as nurses, in an operation that, if successful, would rob the U.S. gold bullion depository at Fort Knox of fifteen billion dollars in gold bullion. She and her gang were to be well paid for the heist, receiving a generous share of the net bullion gained. Operation Grand Slam commences and is sabotaged by a note Bond had secretly smuggled to Felix Leiter. A battle commences, but Galore escapes alongside Goldfinger, several gang leaders, and the villains' personal hoard of gold bullion. Acting on behalf of SMERSH, Goldfinger hijacks Bond's Boeing 377 Stratocruiser with the intent of flying him into Soviet captivity. Through impersonation and cunning, all the B.O.A.C. personnel at Idlewild, the crew of the plane and the passengers - including 007 - were given sedative injections. Posing as a stewardess, Galore changed clothes with the unconscious crew. On-board, she sides with Bond against Goldfinger and escapes the plane with the spy after he kills Goldfinger and his henchman Oddjob. Lesbian throughout most of the novel, Galore falls in love with Bond at the end of the book. When alone with Bond, she feels remorse for her misdeeds and reveals that her uncle molested her at the age of twelve. Everyone in her family dismissed her story and she subsequently adopted a homosexual lifestyle. She figures she will get arrested for the attempted robbery of Fort Knox, but Bond declines to report her participation. As the novel ends, the pair embrace and make love.
Trigger Mortis[]
Pussy stays with Bond after the death of Goldfinger and accompanies the spy back to London to avoid investigations by the FBI and CIA. She takes up temporary lodging with Bond in his Chelsea flat and is shown the city's sights by Bond. However, much like with Tiffany Case, his relationship with Pussy gradually deteriorates over time and strains start to show. Bond is sent on assignment to the Foxton Hall racing circuit near Devizes in Wiltshire, where he meets his racing instructor, Logan Fairfax. While he is there, Galore travels to Bond's hotel in an attempt to evade two suspicious Americans who have been following her around London. Returning from dining with Logan, 007 witnesses Pussy being kidnapped in a grey Austin saloon. The pair race after her and eventually catch up with her and the kidnappers at a large Celtic stone monument in the countryside - known locally as "The Devil's Own". There, Pussy is tied up and has her body covered in gold paint, similar to that of Jill Masterton in Miami. Bond hurls two makeshift Molotov cocktails at the men and rescues her. She is taken to a nearby hospital in Marlborough, where Logan and Bond take turns at her bedside. Having fully recuperated, and with their relationship a mess, Galore decides to leave Bond and heads back to her old life in Harlem, accompanied by Logan.
See also[]
- Pussy Galore
- Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman)
- Pussy Galore (World of Espionage)
- Pussy Galore (Rosamund Pike)