The Frank Sinatra Show

I bought some VHS tapes a few years back that has the above guests you mentioned, plus I have one tape that was filmed at the Paramount Theater with guests Dagmar, Tim Herbert & Don Saxon (comedy), Eileen Barton and Joe Bushkin (pianist from the Dorsey Days).

As mentioned, you can see the stress on Sinatra filming live TV (e.g. You can hear he was told to "stretch" one scene to make it longer), and there appears to be mild confusion at times as to what is happening. Seeing Axel Stordahl conducting, mixed with the marginal footage condition, almost makes you think you're watching his 1943 show there!

The skits are very dated and appear to made on an extreme budget and you can see the vulnerability in him that would never be evident only a few years later. I think these shows would be labeled "For enthusiasts only".

This is Sinatra during his unsteady Ava Gardner period. It is before "From Here to Eternity" and Capitol records. Axel Stordahl is still Sinatra's conductor and he and George Siravo wrote most of Sinatra's arrangements. On some shows, Sinatra even sports a moustache which does not look good on him.

His hair is thinning and his bald spot is quite noticeable. He tries to plug some of the Mitch Miller inspired songs he recorded during this period, but one can see that his heart is really not into it. On a few occasions, his disdain for the songs is apparent.

I have seen 3 complete bootlegged shows on video and a compilation of Sinatra's musical numbers from the show. On a New Years show, Sinatra welcomes Louis Armstrong and the Three Stooges as his guests. It is too bad that Louis and the Stooges do not interact. That would have been terrific. The highlights on this show have Sinatra engaging in some Stooge slapstick at a New Years Party (with Vernon Dent as one of the guests!) and a wonderful duet of "Lonesome Man Blues" (from "Meet Danny Wilson") with Armstrong.

A second show, features Jack Benny as the guest. Benny and Sinatra work great together and the show also includes some very bizarre vaudeville acts.

The third show features Jackie Gleason and contains a story of Gleason taking the urban Sinatra to a hunting lodge. Here we see the cocky, hard drinking, straight character used by Gleason. He is fabulous. No trace of Ralph Kramden here!

The musical compilation has Sinatra in many settings performing his recent recordings. He has never been in better voice, but he is quite uncomfortable on the shows.

Although these shows are difficult to find, they are worth the effort of seeing Sinatra in his transition period from bobby sox idol to King of the Rat Pack.