Sinatra in Palm Springs

The documentary Sinatra in Palm Springs focuses on Frank Sinatra during the last two decades of his life, when he held court in the Southern California desert. You won't see his kids, who were adults by then, or much of the Rat Pack, which was his Las Vegas posse. It does offer stories of his legendary temper, but far more about his generosity.

The film takes its audience to the settings of those stories, the lavish homes and unique restaurants in which the singer/actor spent his time. It looks at the period architecture and furnishings in the residences; at the restaurants, you see the tables and foods he favored and hear from the colorful men who owned and managed the places.

Filmmaker Leo Zahn scored a lengthy interview with Sinatra's fourth wife, Barbara, shortly before her death and uses clips throughout the documentary.

At 95 minutes, the film runs probably 25 minutes too long, repeating some of the footage and belaboring some of its points. But viewers with particular interests in Sinatra or the history of Palm Springs will find plenty to like.

Outside of the Palm Springs area, nobody cares about this boring, trite ego fest. It's the musings of has-beens and wannabes, like conversations on jello night at a retirement home. Barbara Sinatra was a dragon lady who forced Frank to annul his first marriage, rendering his children illegitimate. She hustled him for his money and pushed him to perform when he couldn't remember the words to his own songs. Why dignify her experience? Skip it and watch a Sinatra classic movie made by a real director. (Zahn just needs the cred for his many dating site profiles because documentaries are slightly more impressive than peddling drugstore products or getting canned after a series pilot once upon a time.)

This documentary may not be everyone's cup of tea, but if you have a fondness for Palm Springs, and especially Frank Sinatra, you will love this movie, hence the ten stars I gave it. Sinatra lived in Palm Springs/Rancho Mirage for 50 years and he loved it much more than either Vegas, L.A. or New York. He could live a low key lifestyle yet still party with his friends and not be bothered, like he would in major cities. He had three homes in the Coachella Valley and while they were nice homes, they weren't over the top, like the Bob Hope residence as an example. The stories told by his Palm Springs friends paint a picture of an immense talent who just liked to hang out at his favorite restaurants and bars in Palm Springs, and talk about sports. The documentary does a good job of interviewing the owners of the places Frank went to and they tell the story of an immensely generous man who gave of his time and money to fund hospitals, charities, and aid to average folks down on their luck. Sinatra came to Palm Springs in 1947 and had a modern home built for him, that set the standard for mid-century homes that followed. Once Sinatra had a home built, other celebrities followed, and Palm Springs cemented its reputation as a playground to the stars. The mob also came to Plam Springs and that story is also told, but they viewed Palm Springs as their vacation spot and did not practice business in the valley. The documentary interweaves the old Palm Springs of the 1940's with modern Palm Springs, and it is well done if at times a bit repetitious. Movies filmed in Palm Springs are also briefly shown as are some of the Palm Springs neighborhoods. To lighten the mood, anecdotes by Don Rickles and other comedians make for some out loud laughs. As Sinatra's friends note, he could at times be mean and ill tempered so it was important to find out if he was in a good mood before approaching him, especially if you were a reporter. As someone said, many famous celebrities have lived in Palm Springs, but most visitors to the area only want to know where Frank Sinatra lived. His first home is still a feature of each years Modernism Week, and rightfully so. The house still feels like Frank Sinatra will walk in the door at any minute.

Love Frank & Palm Springs. Great vintage images & footage. We stopped at Melvyn's for a cocktail after the film.

This could be a much better documentary without the annoying typing of information graphics repeatedly.