Bond. James Bond.

The DeMille Theater at Broadway and 47th Street will remain open 24 hours a day through the end of the year to meet the public demand for showings of “Goldfinger.” The theater hopes to show the new film about Ian Fleming's fictional agent, James Bond, at least 12 times during each 24‐hour period.

The policy starts today and it is believed to be the first time that it has been employed to meet ticket demands at a midtown movie house. At the smaller Coronet Theater, regular midnight performances of “Goldfinger” also will begin today.

Walter Reade‐Sterling Theaters yesterday predicted record first‐day grosses at both theatres. By 4 P.M. yesterday boxoffice returns at the 1,496‐seat DeMille had reached $6,200. The previous champion, “The Night of the Iguana,” grossed: $8,539 for the entire day last year. At the 599‐seat Coronet, where “Lilith” set a record of $3,957, that figure was being‐surpassed by late afternoon attendance.

Sean Connery voted best Bond, with Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan runners up

Sean Connery has swept to victory in a new survey seeking to find the best ever James Bond, with actors assumed to be strong contenders sidelined in favour of dark sheep.

Connery took 56% of the vote in the first round of the Radio Times poll; as befits the gravity of the issue at hand, a complicated multi-knockout round system was employed.

In the final reckoning, Timothy Dalton was the surprise runner-up, taking 32% of the votes in the climactic round, with Connery on 44% and Pierce Brosnan on 23%.

Trailing behind were Roger Moore – often assumed to be a firm fan favourite – incumbent Bond Daniel Craig, and George Lazenby.

Connery, 89, is often felt to be the definitive 007 not simply because he was the first actor to take the part, in 1962’s Dr No, but because of his facility with a quip and an eyebrow.

Ian Fleming, on whose books the Bond series is based, initially favoured Cary Grant for the part, but warmed up to Connery after he proved a critical and commercial hit. Connery’s tenure lasted a total of seven movies.

Craig, as well as being the incumbent Bond, is also the longest serving: now clocking 14 years’ service, partly because of the lengthy gaps between his five films.