The story begins when Rod Slater (Roger Moore), an ambitious yet honest mine manager, is abruptly promoted to general manager at the Sonderditch Gold Mining Company. Slater is unaware that this lightning promotion following the mysterious death of the previous manager is merely a dirty tactic. He is turned into an unwitting pawn by his cunning boss, Manfred Steyner (Bradford Dillman), who is collaborating with a corrupt international banking syndicate based in London.
An internal investigation that Slater is unaware of slowly leads him to a horrifying global market manipulation plan. Steyner deliberately manipulates technical reports and urges Slater to drill through a dangerous barrier wall, behind which lies a massive underground lake. The syndicate's ambition is to flood the Sonderditch mine to completely paralyze world gold production, thereby triggering a global supply shortage that will skyrocket gold prices to reap billions of dollars in profits.
The success of this film is backed by the presence of Manfred Steyner as a sociopathic and manipulative antagonist. Steyner is portrayed as a cold-blooded man who is willing to sacrifice the lives of hundreds of underground miners for personal financial gain. This character provides a stark contrast to Slater, who prioritizes the safety of his workers.
The film's intrigue peaks thanks to the dynamics of a forbidden love affair between Slater and Terry (Susannah York), who happens to be Steyner's own wife. This romance subplot is not mere window dressing, but rather serves as the spark for the main conflict when Steyner capitalizes on Slater's absence while away with Terry to order the continuation of the deadly drilling until the barrier wall breaches.
In terms of aesthetics and entertainment, Gold is recognized for delivering a highly realistic and thrilling visualization of mine operations for its time. Director Peter Hunt masterfully directs the film's climax with high tension, showcasing mass panic as millions of gallons of water rush into the underground tunnels. Slater's bravery, alongside his loyal friend Big King (Simon Sabela), in descending into the drowning tunnels to detonate a safety charge to plug the water flow becomes the film's most memorable action sequence.
The audio aspect of the film also plays a crucial role through a grand yet tense musical score crafted by composer Elmer Bernstein. The accompanying music succeeds in building a claustrophobic atmosphere inside the dark and narrow mine tunnels, lending dramatic weight to the workers' life-and-death struggle. The main theme song "Wherever Love Takes Me," performed by Shirley Bassey, even successfully earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song.
However, the realism championed by the film became a double-edged sword that sparked major off-screen controversy at the time of its release. Because filming took place directly on location at active mines in South Africa during the Apartheid era, the film faced boycotts from British trade unions and rejection from critics who viewed its production as a violation of international cultural sanctions.
Overall, if you are looking for a tactical espionage film with a James Bond flair, Gold might feel different as it focuses more on industrial disaster drama and corporate tension. On the contrary, if you want to see an acting performance from Roger Moore that is more grounded and rugged outside of his secret agent tuxedo, this film is a highly solid, suspenseful, and narratively tense 1970s classic thriller that is very enjoyable to watch.