He was known in English-speaking countries for his work as the title character in the James Bond film Goldfinger, as Peachum in The Threepenny Opera, as Baron Bomburst in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, as Hotzenplotz in The Robber Hotzenplotz, General Dietrich von Choltitz in Is Paris Burning?, as Colonel Manfred von Holstein in Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines, and as Inspector Bauer in Ingmar Bergman’s The Serpent's Egg.

[3] In September 1944, theatres in Germany were closed down and Fröbe was drafted into the German Army, where he served until the end of the war.

[4] He was cast as the villain in the Swiss-West German-Spanish film Es geschah am hellichten Tag (It Happened in Broad Daylight, 1958), with the original screenplay written by Friedrich Dürrenmatt.

He later remarked, "The ridiculous thing is that since I played Goldfinger in the James Bond film there are some people who still insist on seeing me as a cold, ruthless villain – a man without laughs.

"[5] Fröbe made several appearances in all-star casts in the 1960s, including the films The Longest Day (1962), Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965), Is Paris Burning?