It's been well over 70 years since Mr. S first moved to the Coachella Valley, yet his spirit is still felt, remembered and talked about today. And, thanks to director Leo Zhan's effective first-hand Palm Springs trip down memory lane, Frank and Barbara's presence (Frank passed in 1998 and Barbara departed in 2017) will now be remembered for years to come. Through vintage Palm Village and old Hollywood film footage, Sinatra's rocky marriage to Ava Gardner, his notorious E. Stewart Williams Twin Palm Estate parties (a raised flag between the two palm trees informed his friends he was home and the bar was open), the purchase and build of his 18 room/23 bath Rancho Mirage "Compound," a look into his Villa Maggio home, footage of his favorite restaurants/hangouts (Melvyn's, Lord Flecthers, The Purple Room, The Rivera - to name but a few), interviews and personal stories by locals who knew him and/or served him, and one-on-one interviews with Barbara Sinatra effect lives on. It's hard to tell if Zhan purposely left out Frank's reported hot temper, choosing to highlight only his documented tossing of his pasta at a wall if made correctly, but those are facts/rumors that don't really have a place in a documentary that worships the man and the myth. If you like looking back, in order to understand the looking forward, "Sinatra in Palm Springs" will fill you with needed nostalgia and desert glamor that should not be missed.
Review of Sinatra in Palm Springs
