Le Chiffre (meaning The Cipher) is the main antagonist or villian of the first novel within the James Bond franchise called Casino Royale by Ian Fleming from 1953 as well as its 2006 film adaptation of the same name.
Biography[]
Le Chiffre was born November 22, 1906 in the Corsica region of France. He was a major hotel and casino owner who was contacted by a Russian Mafia syndicate known as the Grubozaboyschikov Bratva in January of 1946 after the Second World War. He also made a major investment in a string of brothels with money belonging to the Russian mob. Over time, he became an associate of very high value to them. In April of 1951, a British secret agent named James Bond (codename: 007) was sent to bust Le Chiffre, posing as a major gambler at his most famous and luxurious hotel and casino which he co-owned with the Russian Mafia known as the Casino Royale, which was located in northern France. Le Chiffre was hosting a major baccarat game there after playing some poker and rummy. Bond’s partner was a female British MI6 agent named Vesper Lynd. At first, Le Chiffre cleaned out James Bond, just in case. However, an undercover American CIA agent named Felix Leiter gave 32 million francs to Bond and the British agent subsequently cleaned out Le Chiffre, much to his annoyance. After the game, Le Chiffre kidnapped Vesper Lynd and disabled Bond’s car with tire spikes. He subsequently took Bond to his hideout where he tortured him using a carpet beater, a needle and hot coffee for the location of the money he won. When it became apparent that Bond would not talk, he was about to castrate him, beat him some more and even poke him with a hot poker, but he was executed by a Russian mob assassin for failing to pay off his debts when the assassin came to his hideout.
Le Chiffre’s death would be seen as an embarrassment by the Russian Mafia 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.
Trivia[]
- His name translates to The Figure or The Cipher, which is based upon his mysterious personality, but that alone should tell you that Chiffre may have some ulterior motives and a crude nature underneath.
- Despite being French, he has nothing to do with France City's Cosa Nostra and Les Beaux Yoyous which took place decades later during The Godfather Game.