Guy Hamilton had already turned down a James Bond film when he was approached to direct Goldfinger. Terence Young, who had directed the first two films, had a pay dispute with producers about the film's profits and so decided to direct a different film instead. When Hamilton accepted the job, his aim was to make Bond seem like more of a human being, less invincible and more resourceful. Part of lessening Bond's "superhuman" powers was about making the villains particularly villainous, which he achieved through his characterization of the evil Auric Goldfinger.
Hamilton was highly involved in the development of the film, including its script and its action sequences. He also delegated duties to various experts, including stunt coordinator Bob Simmons, who choreographed Bond's fight with Oddjob in the depository, a sequence that has been touted as one of the best fights in film history. He was also influential in helping Sean Connery find his signature wry attitude as Bond; it was important to Hamilton that the film have a bit of humor, a quality that he had come to value after years of serving in the war.
One of Hamilton's greatest challenges in the development of the film was squaring loosening sexual attitudes with American film censors, most notably in regards to one of the most famous scenes, in which Bond finds the naked Jill Masterson suffocated by gold paint on the bed. Hamilton is quoted as saying, "The censor was a big pain around this time in two completely different areas. The Americans said we had to get PG — or U for United Kingdom — because all the kids go to see Bond. The American censor, absolutely constipated about sex; the British censor couldn’t have cared less about that. The British censor, panic-stricken about violence; the American censor, totally indifferent about that. So one was doing a fairly fine balancing act.”
