the Unione Corse, a (real-life) major European crime syndicate and a rival of SPECTRE. He appears in the novels On Her Majesty's Secret Service, working as an ally of Bond; and Never Dream of Dying, where 007's former father-in-law turns out to be linked to the villain of the Union. He also appears in the film On Her Majesty's Secret Service, portrayed by Gabriele Ferzetti. René Mathis Mathis is a long-time friend of Bond and an agent of the French secret service Service de Documentation Extérieure et de Contre-Espionnage (SDECE). He is a main character in Casino Royale and a supporting character in From Russia, with Love, Never Dream of Dying and Devil May Care. Mathis captures the SMERSH villain Rosa Klebb, and uses cardiopulmonary resuscitation to keep Bond alive until a doctor arrives after Bond is poisoned by Klebb. In Casino Royale, it is revealed that he originally met Bond on assignment in Monte Carlo prior to World War II, when Bond was trying to crack down on a group of Romanians cheating at a local casino with the use of invisible ink. Mathis is reassigned to work with Bond at the time of the events in Casino Royale, where he poses as a radio salesman, assisting Bond and introducing him to Vesper Lynd. In the novel Thunderball, Bill Tanner asks Moneypenny to send a copy of SPECTRE's ransom demand letter to Mathis at the Deuxième Bureau. In Never Dream of Dying, he is captured by the head of the Union Le Gérant and is blinded with lasers. Bond later saves him from imprisonment. A younger version of Mathis appears in the "Young Bond" short story "A Hard Man to Kill". The characters of Mathis and Vesper Lynd are combined to form Valerie Mathis in the original 1954 Climax! production of "Casino Royale". Mathis first appears onscreen in the 1967 version of Casino Royale, played by Duncan Macrae. Here, he is a police officer, prompting Evelyn Tremble (Peter Sellers) to state that it has been worrying him that despite his supposed nationality, Mathis has a Scots accent: "Aye, it worries me too", Mathis replies. In the 2006 adaptation of Casino Royale, Mathis is an MI6 agent, played by Giancarlo Giannini. Mathis is suspected of being a traitor and informant to Le Chiffre and arrested. Upon the discovery that Vesper was the real traitor, Bond advises that MI6 should continue