The investment fails after the Loi Marthe Richard is signed into law banning prostitution in France. He makes a major investment in the Cordon Jaune string of brothels with 50 million francs in subsidies belonging to SMERSH. MI6 also believes the union would serve as a fifth column in the event of a Third World War between NATO and the Eastern Bloc, capable to mobilizing its 50,000 members to seize control of a substantial portion of the French–West German borderlands. In the novel, he serves as the paymaster for the Syndicat des Ouvriers d'Alsace, an important Communist trade union in Alsace. Peter Lorre as Le Chiffre in the 1954 TV adaption of Casino Royale. Knowledge of accountancy and mathematics. Carries three Eversharp razor blades, in hatband, heel of left shoe, and cigarette case. Adept with small arms and other forms of personal combat, including knives. At frequent intervals inhales from benzedrine inhaler. Smokes incessantly Caporals, using a denicotinizing holder. Dresses well and meticulously, generally in dark double-breasted suits. Racially, subject is probably a mixture of Mediterranean with Prussian or Polish strains.

Hair red-īrown, 'en brosse.' Eyes very dark brown with whites showing all round iris. Not much else is really known about Le Chiffre's background or where he comes from, except for educated guesses based on his description: There he adopts the name Le Chiffre because as he claims, he is 'only a number on a passport'. He gained back speech capability and was transferred to Alsace-Lorraine and Strasbourg (due to some mention he made of them) three months later on a stateless passport. He is first encountered as an inmate of the Dachau displaced persons camp in the US zone of Allied-occupied Germany in June 1945, where he displayed (possibly simulated) mutism and amnesia.

Number', 'Herr Ziffer' and other translations of 'The Number', 'The Numeral', 'The Figure', 'The Cipher', or 'The Code' in various languages, is the paymaster of the 'Syndicat des Ouvriers d'Alsace' (French for 'Alsatian Workmen's Union'), a SMERSH-controlled trade union. White.įleming based the character on occultist Aleister Crowley.

On screen Le Chiffre has been portrayed by Peter Lorre in the 1954 television adaptation of the novel for CBS's Climax! anthology television series, by Orson Welles in the 1967 spoof of the novel and Bond film series, and by Mads Mikkelsen in the 2006 film version of Fleming's novel where he is one of two main antagonists, the other being Mr. Le Chiffre ( French:, 'The Cypher' or 'The Digit') is a fictional character and the main antagonist of Ian Fleming's 1953 novel, Casino Royale.

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