Le Chiffre
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| James Bond character | |
|---|---|
 Mads Mikkelsen as Le Chiffre in Casino Royale |
|
| Le Chiffre | |
| Gender | Male |
| Role | Villain |
| Affiliation | SMERSH (novel) Mr. White (2006 film) |
| Current status | Deceased |
| Portrayed by | Peter Lorre (1954) Orson Welles (1967) Mads Mikkelsen (2006) |
Le Chiffre is a fictional character and the main villain in Ian Fleming's James Bond novel Casino Royale. On screen Le Chiffre has been portrayed by Peter Lorre in the 1954 television adaptation of the novel for CBS's Climax! television series, by Orson Welles in the unofficial 1967 spoof of the novel and Bond film series, and by Mads Mikkelsen in the 2006 cinematic version of Fleming's novel.
Ian Fleming is said to have based the character on the British occultist Aleister Crowley. Le Chiffre translates in french as "The Number", possibly a reference to Crowley's number, '666'.
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[edit] Novel bio
Le Chiffre, alias "Herr Nummer," "The Number," "Herr Ziffer," and other translations of "The Number" or "The Cypher" in various languages; was the paymaster of the "Syndicat des Ouvriers d'Alsace", a SMERSH controlled trade union.
He was first encountered as an inmate of Dachau DP camp in the U.S. zone of Germany in June 1945 and transferred to Alsace-Lorraine and Strasbourg in September 1945 on a stateless passport. There he adopted the name Le Chiffre because as he claimed, he was 'only a number on a passport'. Not much else is really known about Le Chiffre's background or where he comes from, except for educated guesses based on his description.
“ Height 5 ft 8 ins. Weight 18 stones. Complexion very pale. Clean shaven. Hair red-brown, 'en brosse'. Eyes very dark brown with whites showing all round iris. Small, rather feminine mouth. False teeth of expensive quality. Ears small, with large lobes, indicating some Jewish blood. Hands small, well-tended, hirsute. Feet small. Racially, subject is probably a mixture of Prussian or Polish strains. Dresses well and meticulously, generally in dark double-breasted suits.”
- Casino Royale, Chapter 2: Dossier for M
He was also fluent in French, English, and German with traces of a Marseilles accent.
In the novel, he made a major investment in a string of brothels with money belonging to SMERSH. Later the investment went bad after a bill was signed into law banning prostitution. Le Chiffre then went to the casino Royale-les-Eaux in an attempt to recover all of his lost funds. There, however, Bond bankrupted him in a series of games in Chemin de Fer. Le Chiffre kidnapped Bond's assistant, Vesper Lynd, to lure him into a trap and get his money back. The trap worked, and Le Chiffre tortured Bond nearly to death. Just as Bond was about to succumb to the pain, however, the torture session was interrupted by a SMERSH agent, who assassinated Le Chiffre as punishment for losing the money. The torture Bond suffered at Le Chiffre's hand briefly upset 007's confidence in his profession, and he toyed with the idea of leaving the service until the novel's conclusion, when a new threat emerged.
Le Chiffre's death would later be seen by the Soviet government as an embarrassment, which in addition to the death and defeat of Mr. Big in Live and Let Die, led to the events of From Russia with Love. In the novel SMERSH attempts to get revenge by killing James Bond in an elaborate plot that would embarrass the British Secret Service within the intelligence community.
[edit] Henchmen
- Tall, thin man named only Basil - bodyguard of Le Chiffre and an expert at martial arts who takes pleasure in roughing up Bond. He is later killed by a SMERSH agent.
- Short, Corsican unnamed man - bodyguard of Le Chiffre and wielder of a walking-stick gun that he threatens to cripple Bond with at the gaming table. He is later killed by a SMERSH agent.
[edit] 2006 film bio
Le Chiffre is the main villain of the official 2006 James Bond film, Casino Royale. In terms of appearance, Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen in the role matches Fleming's description for paleness and (impeccable) dress sense, but is taller and slim, and the character has acquired a scarred (blind?) left eye with a corrupted tear duct that weeps blood. He still employs a platinum, benzadrine inhaler; not for any form of medication, but because benzadrine is a type of amphetamine. He is a banker for various terrorists and uses Alex Dimitrios, a government contractor, as a middle-man for many of his jobs. Believed by MI6 to be born in Albania, Le Chiffre is a mathematical genius and a chess prodigy. This enables him to earn large sums of money on games of chance and he likes to show off by playing poker.
Le Chiffre works with a man known as Mr. White, who may be his boss. Le Chiffre banks USD 101,260,000 for Steven Obanno, a feared leader of the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda.
However, Le Chiffre invests the money in an airline company's stock and plans to short the stock by ordering the destroying the company's new prototype airliner, set to make its first flight out of Miami International Airport. But the plan is foiled due to Bond's intervention, and Le Chiffre loses the money.
In order to win the money back for Obanno, Le Chiffre sponsors a Texas hold 'em poker tournament in Montenegro at the Casino Royale in an attempt to recoup the loss before Obanno learns that his money has gone missing. Bond is sent to make sure that Le Chiffre doesn't win back the money, an estimated 150 million total for the single tournament. But during the tournament, an enraged Obanno and one of his henchmen break into Le Chiffre's hotel room and holds him and his girlfriend hostage. After some negotiation, Obanno decides to give Le Chiffre time to win the money and leaves him unharmed.
After a tense tournament, Le Chiffre loses a key hand and the tournament to Bond's straight flush. Enraged by his loss he kidnaps Vesper Lynd and forces Bond to give chase, but Bond is led straight into his trap. Le Chiffre leaves Vesper, bound at the feet and hands, in the middle of the road. Bond is forced to swerve and he subsequently crashes his Aston Martin. When Bond regains consciousness he is stripped of his clothing and tied to a chair in the hull of a cargo ship where Le Chiffre proceeds to torture Bond's genitalia in a similar manner as described in the novel, trying to extort the password that will enable Le Chiffre to collect the tournament winnings. However, this is quickly broken when Mr. White suddenly enters the room and executes Le Chiffre for losing the tournament.
[edit] Henchmen
- See List of James Bond henchmen in Casino Royale for a comprehensive list
[edit] See also
| Preceded by: Gustav Graves |
Bond Villain 2006 |
Succeeded by: Unknown |
