Palm Springs — a small desert oasis 100 miles East of Los Angeles — was Frank Sinatra's true home for 50 years. During his brief yet turbulent marriage to Ava Gardner his Palm Springs house was center stage. For the rest of his life the Rancho Mirage compound on Frank Sinatra Drive was the home he called “My Heaven”. Palm Springs still feels the ghost of Frank Sinatra.
“Sinatra in Palm Springs: The Place He Called Home” — a documentary film by Leo Zahn — explores Frank Sinatra’s deep attachment to Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley, his primary home for almost 50 years. The film captures the spirit of the Sinatra era and pays tribute to the unique lifestyle of Sinatra’s Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage.
Steeped in affection and appreciation for the deep bond between Sinatra and these beguiling desert towns, “Sinatra in Palm Springs” tells the story of a man whose generosity and compassion for his fellow citizens had no bounds. He loved the desert and its people. He loved the local restaurants and bars. His best friends lived nearby.
Revealing interviews bring to life a bygone era — beginning with the post WWII years and Sinatra’s 1947 home in Palm Springs, tumultuous times with Ava Gardner, his 1954 move to Rancho Mirage, his marriage to Barbara and life at the “compound”.
More than 50 clips from his movies and television appearances bring to life the Sinatra of legend during the Palm Springs years. Major sequences are dedicated to historic restaurants Sinatra frequented for decades. Featuring interviews with Barbara Sinatra, Mel Haber, Tom Dreesen, Nelda Linsk, Bruce Fessier, Trini Lopez, Michael Fletcher and many others who knew and lived and played with Frank Sinatra.