Valerie Mathis is a fictional intelligence operative employed by the French Deuxième Bureau, an associate of Le Chiffre and old flame of American agent, James Bond. The character appeared in the 1954 Climax! episode, Casino Royale, portrayed by Mexican actress Linda Christian, and was an amalgam of the literary characters Vesper Lynd and René Mathis; both of whom first appeared in Ian Fleming's 1953 novel of the same name.
Biography[]
- "So it was you those men were shooting at. But why?"
"Maybe they needed the practice." - ― Valerie Mathis and James Bond
An old flame of James Bond, the pair had originally met in a casino; she being his 'good luck charm' and while professing to love him, by the time of Casino Royale had not written to him in a year. Now an associate of Soviet intelligence operative, Le Chiffre, she accompanies him to the Casino Royale. After a failed attempt on Bond's life, she is sent by Le Chiffre to dissuade the spy from playing against him at the Baccarat table - knowing that if he loses his masters will most likely kill him. She apparently fails and Bond proceeds to play the following day, despite being threatened by one of Le Chiffre's men that they will kill her should he win. Concerned for her safety, Bond has his British associate, Clarence Leiter, watch her. The game goes in Le Chiffre's favor and Bond is cleaned out, however, Mathis secretly provides a further 35,000,000 francs to the spy, enabling him to continue the game and defeat Le Chiffre - winning 87,000,000 francs.
Le Chiffre corners Bond in his hotel room, bringing Valerie with him; revealing that she is in fact an agent of the French Secret Service, the Deuxième Bureau. She is bound and is forced to watch as the Soviet operative tortures Bond in order to discover the location of the cheque. In a desperate bid to stop them, she discloses that she saw Bond with a screwdriver as she arrived - leading the men to leave them in the bathroom as they search the suite. She helps Bond acquire a razor from Le Chiffre's nearby cigarette case and they cut their bonds. They overcome their captors and as Mathis tries to extract the cheque from Le Chiffre's pocket, he pulls out one of his razors and holds her hostage. She slips from his grasp as he opens the hotel door and Bond shoots him dead. The pair embrace as the scene ends.
Differences from Novel[]
Valerie Mathis is mainly a combination of Inspector Mathis and Vesper Lynd from the novel, but with fewer of the latter's negative characteristics. However, she also takes on some of Felix Leiter's aspects – for one, it is she, and not Leiter, as in the novel, who bails out Bond in the game.
In the novel, Bond is British, and Leiter is American and bails out Bond, providing him with 32 million francs when Bond has been cleaned out by SMERSH paymaster Le Chiffre, calling it "Marshall Aid". This can be seen as a stand in for the Anglo-American relationship – but when Climax! turned Bond into an American, this lost importance.
Valerie Mathis' relationship to Vesper Lynd is also complex. While she is in a relationship with Le Chiffre, her loyalties are less in question.
Gallery[]
See also[]
- Vesper Lynd
- Vesper Lynd (Literary)
- Vesper Lynd (Ursula Andress)
- Vesper Lynd (Eva Green)
- René Mathis
- René Mathis (Literary)
- René Mathis (Giancarlo Giannini)