Le Chiffre is the self-important trade union organizer the book makes him out to be, and shows up at the critical baccarat game with Miss Mathis on his arm. Soon after this, James receives a not very veiled threat to throw the game in order to save her life, putting him in a pensive mood at the start of the game. The stakes rise rapidly, with Bond on the losing side, and as we all know, James Bond is best with his back to the wall. He turns the tables and wins the game, but the winnings bring with it villainous greed and danger.
Le Chiffre appears in his dark splendor to discuss "matters of mutual interest" and to reveal the French antecedents of Miss Mathis. Peter Lorre does a marvelous job as Le Chiffre, and has the best lines ("If he protests, hit him again, but only a little at a time") Act III introduces James Bond to the dangers of his profession, beginning with the bathtub, followed by "torture to the edge of madness."
The torture, and the quintessential Bond-style rebound, are perhaps the best part of the made-for, and Bond thankfully ignores the glimmer of a romantic interlude to face down the sinister villain, who recognizes much of himself in Bond.
The made-for-television film was satisfying in many respects, this is the first on-screen incarnation of the character who went on to save the world from numerous threats, and garner a fan-following of millions. One's expectations may not be met, but that is perhaps because of what lay ahead, rather than what one derives from the present version. In that sense, for this reviewer at least, the invention of Bond was far more satisfying than the reinvention of Bond.
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