Template:James Bond Character Le Chiffre is the main villain in the Ian Fleming James Bond novel Casino Royale. Onscreen, 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.
In French, le chiffre translates as either "the figure" (i.e. "the number") or "the cipher."
Novel bio
Le Chiffre (AKA "Herr Nummer", "The Number", and "Herr Ziffer") was the paymaster of the "Syndicat des Ouvriers d'Alsace", a SMERSH controlled trade union. 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, he was prevented from obtaining this goal by James Bond who beat and bankrupted him in a series of games in Chemin de Fer. Due to his inability to pay back the money he had lost, he was subsequently killed by SMERSH.
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.
2006 film bio
Le Chiffre is the primary villain of the official 2006 James Bond film, Casino Royale, portrayed by Mads Mikkelsen. To date, he is the first main Bond villain to die before the film's final act.
Believed by MI6 to have been born in Albania, Le Chiffre is banker to the world's terrorist organizations. A mathematical genius and chess prodigy, his abilities enable him to earn large sums of money on games of chance and probability. Consequently, Le Chiffre has a penchant for poker, even though he has what at first appears to be an obvious tell — it is later implied that this is a trick to fool Bond into becoming overconfident. He suffers from Haemolacria, which causes him to weep blood, and uses a platinum, benzedrine inhaler.
Investment
Le Chiffre is contacted by Mr. White, who is a representative of a terrorist organization later revealed to be Quantum. White introduces Steven Obanno, a feared leader of the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda, to Le Chiffre, and arranges to bank several briefcases full of cash for Obanno. Le Chiffre invests the money along with his other creditors' money in the aircraft manufacturer SkyFleet. Though SkyFleet's shares have been skyrocketing, he plans to short the company by purchasing put options, and ordering the destruction of the company's new prototype airliner, set to make its first flight out of Miami International Airport. Bond intervenes and foils the plan, costing Le Chiffre his entire investment totaling $101,206,000.
Gambling
In order to win the money back, while not informing Mr. White or Obanno, Le Chiffre sets up and enters a high stakes Texas hold 'em tournament in Montenegro at the Casino Royale in an attempt to recoup the loss before Obanno learns that his money has been misappropriated. Bond is sent to make sure that Le Chiffre does not win back the money. The reasoning is to force Le Chiffre to turn to MI6 for protection, in exchange for information on his creditors and employers. Bond plants a listening device in Le Chiffre's inhaler shortly after the tournament begins.
During the tournament, an enraged Obanno and one of his henchmen break into Le Chiffre's hotel room and threaten him and his girlfriend, Valenka. Le Chiffre does not blanch at the threatened amputation of Valenka and is granted one last chance to win their money back.
As Obanno leaves the room, his bodyguard spots Bond and hears Valenka's cries coming from Bond's earpiece. In the subsequent brawl, 007 kills both Obanno and his henchman, and Rene Mathis arranges the blame to be placed on Le Chiffre's bodyguard Leo.
During the tense tournament, Le Chiffre initially outwits and bankrupts Bond, who cannot get additional funding from Vesper Lynd. However, Felix Leiter agrees to bankroll Bond, and so Le Chiffre has Valenka attempt to poison Bond's drink. Bond is almost killed but is revived at the last moment and returns to the game. During the final round, Le Chiffre's full house bests the hands of the two players preceding him but loses to Bond's straight flush.
Torture
Le Chiffre tortures James Bond.
Enraged by his loss, he kidnaps Vesper Lynd forcing Bond to give chase, and Bond is led straight into his trap. Le Chiffre leaves Vesper, bound at the feet and hands, in the middle of the road, and Bond is forced to swerve and he subsequently crashes his car.
When Bond regains consciousness he is stripped and tied to a chair. Le Chiffre stands right in front of the chair and sarcastically says to Bond "You've taken good care of your body... such a waste." Le Chiffre proceeds to torture Bond by repeatedly striking him in the testicles with the large knotted end of a thick rope, trying to extort the password that will enable Le Chiffre to collect the tournament winnings. Bond refuses to give in and plays on Le Chiffre's fear that there will be retribution from the clients whose money he lost. An enraged Le Chiffre brandishes a knife and threatens to castrate Bond.
This is interrupted by the sound of gunshots and Mr. White suddenly enters the room. Le Chiffre makes a final plea for his life but it is to no avail. Mr. White says "money isn't as valuable to our organization as knowing who to trust", and personally executes Le Chiffre by shooting him in the forehead with a gun fitted with a suppressor. Despite his statement, White murdered Le Chiffre and rescued both Bond and Vesper because he needed the two to access the money later. Only Bond knew the password to the money container, and Vesper was needed to steal the money for White (he had kidnapped Vesper's love interest and successfully blackmailed her).
Henchmen
- Main article: List of James Bond henchmen in Casino Royale
- Alex Dimitrios
- Carlos
- Mollaka
- Leo
- Bobbie
- Jochum
- Kratt
- Valenka
- General Grafin von Wallenstein
- Madame Wu
- Sheriff Tomelli
- Lionel
- Ison