A documentary film by Leo Zahn that 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 and unique lifestyle of the Sinatra era. 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. He conducted a lot of his business in the desert and many moved there from LA to be near him and his businesses.
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 Cathedral City/Rancho Mirage, his marriage to Barbara, and life at the "compound". 1954 was a pivotal year for him. Ava Gardner filed for divorce and he won the Oscar for From Here to Eternity. Clips from that film and more than 50 other movie and television clips 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.
Q&A WITH SPECIAL GUEST: Director Leo Zahn; Moderated by Professor Stanislao Pugliese
LEO ZAHN After completing USC Film School, Leo Zahn studied architecture and design in Europe. Working in film as director/editor Leo produced short-form promos and featurettes for major Hollywood studios and ultimatley led ot directing TV commercials for the Rothschild Group in Berlin, commuting between Berlin, London and Los Angeles. Over the course of his 30-year career in advertising based in Los Angeles full time, Leo directed and photographed more than 600 commercials, filmed in the US, Canada and Europe. In 1996 Leo directed the pilot for the “Cobra 11” television series for RTL Network which just completed its 20th season and is shown in 25 countries. He was awarded the International Cinema Advertising CLIO and the Creativity Award from British Art Direction Magazine and has been a member of the Directors Guild of America since 1988. In 2014 he was a working group member of the Motion Picture Academy (AMPAS) Science and Technology Council, charged with creating test materials for the Next Generation Cinema Technology (NGCT) program. His first feature-length documentary "Desert Maverick" premiered during Modernism Week 2016. The film was the Official Selection at Newport Beach and American Documentary Festival and won "Best Documentary" at the 2016 Laughlin International Film festival.
STANISLAO PUGLIESE is Professor of History and the Queensboro Unico Distinguished Professor of Italian and Italian Studies at Hofstra University. He is the author, editor or translator of 15 books, includingand "A Century of Sinatra". With William J. Connell, he is co-editor of The Routledge History of Italian Americans and is currently working on a new book, "Dancing on a Volcano in Naples: Scenes From the Siren City".
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