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The building on the corner of Great South Road and Maxwell Avenue was opened as the 650-seater Otara Luxury Cinema on 16 September 1957. Its construction included steel portal frames with poured reinforced concrete walls nearly 20cm thick. The King and I was the first film to show there. Complete with electronic organ, stereophonic sound, Bauer projectors, the cinema included a modern-style coffee bar with an espresso coffee machine. Every Saturday staff used to serve 1800 to 2000 ice creams. The world premiere of Rudall Hayward's feature film, To Love a Maori, was held there on 17 February 1972. The cinema was renamed the Starlight Cinema in 1975. It closed down in 1992 and was converted into a block of shops.