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Palm Springs In The Movies

A destination for movie stars since the silent film era, Palm Springs has also long been on the short list for location scouts in search of substitutes for desertscapes around the world.

In 1918, Salome starring Theda Bara was filmed in the Indian Canyons (now the preserve with crazy good hiking). It wasn’t the first documented movie shot in Palm Springs — that was The Heir to the Hoorah in 1916 at the same location, directed by Cecil B. De Mille’s brother, William Churchill De Mille. The only copy of this film is in the Library of Congress. You can find the somewhat bizarre synopsis here.

The next two movies are both on streamers, and both shot in Palm Springs at Tahquitz Canyon’s waterfall. This area was used as a stand-in for Shangri-la in the 1937 film Lost Horizon (starring Jane Wyatt) and subbed for the Sahara Desert in The Sheik (1921) starring silent film heartthrob Rudolph Valentino. He became a frequent guest at The Palm Springs Hotel after it was purchased by the White sisters.

Tahquitz Canyon waterfall

Tahquitz Canyon’s waterfall. Courtesy of Visit Palm Springs

Cornelia White was integral to Valentino not being convicted in a crime of a scandalous nature. Here’s the story: Valentino’s divorce decree to actress Jean Acker stated he could not remarry for one year after their divorce, but Valentino’s love for costume designer Natacha Rambova was reckless and apparently lawless, because one day before the year was up, they eloped to Mexico. Their honeymoon was spent at The Palm Springs Hotel, and somebody snitched. At trial, White testified that Rambova spent the night with her and not Valentino, who slept on the porch. As the marriage wasn’t consummated, Valentino was acquitted of bigamy.

But we’re not here for salacious stories (at least not today). We’re here for the movies that were filmed in and around Palm Springs and I’m gonna give you the locations of some of the places that still remain today. Let’s go!

The Damned Don’t Cry! (1950) starring Mommie Dearest herself, Joan Crawford, playing a gangster’s moll. This film noir is set at her boyfriend’s “Desert Springs” getaway. The home was actually the Twin Palms Estate, a.k.a. the main residence of Palm Springs’ most famous resident, gangster-friendly Frank Sinatra. It’s in what is called The Movie Colony neighborhood where — you guessed it — a lot of movie stars had homes. 

Frank Sinatra standing next to a microphone

Frank Sinatra. Photo courtesy of Pixabay

Sinatra’s is a class one historic site designed by E. Stewart Williams and built by the Alexander Company, the one/two punch that solidifies its mid-century modern provenance. You can drive past it at 1148 E. Alejo Road, and if you get to the website fast enough, you can book a tour of it during Modernism Week. A wee bit of apocryphal gossip: a crack in the vanity of the main bathroom supposedly happened when Ava Gardner threw a champagne bottle at Frank during one of their famous fights. (Rent the movie on Prime, Apple, YouTube, Vudu.)

Palm Springs Weekend (1963) — Forget Daytona Beach and all the other Floridian hotspots where the spring break beach movies were set, this film has Connie Stevens, Troy Donahue, and the Girl From U.N.C.L.E., Stephanie Powers, partying in Palm Springs. Still standing locations: the police station at 200 S. Civic Drive and Margaritavilla (known as The Riviera at the time) at 1600 N. Indian Canyon Drive. (Rent on Vudu, Apple TV, Amazon Prime.)

Diamonds Are Forever (1971), starring Sean Connery as Bond, used Palm Springs as a stand in for the South African portion of their hijinks. Most importantly, the marvelous summer home of billionaire brainiac Willard Whyte (Jimmy Dean) is still standing and also a class one historic site. The Elrod Home at 2175 Southridge Drive is architecturally significant, designed by starchitect John Lautner. Unfortunately you can’t go in, and you can’t really get to it. It’s way up on a bluff and it’s gated. The best way to see it is from East Palm Canyon and look up. (Do not do this if you are the driver, ‘k?) 

The "Diamonds are Forever" poster

The “Diamonds are Forever” poster.

It’s right next to Bob Hope’s house (also designed by Lautner), the spaceship looking residence you can spot while heading east on Highway 111. Your best chances to go in, or at least see the outside closer, are during Modernism Week, but it’s not a sure bet. A definite bucket list item for any Bondophile though. (Movie is available on premium streaming subscriptions only.)

American Gigolo (1980) — Besides the fact that this is about a male prostitute, a bit of a switcheroo for Hollywood, it is remembered (fondly) by many for its full-frontal nude shots of Richard Gere. As for Palm Springs? When he and Michelle (Lauren Hutton) come for the weekend they stay at 2389 S. Yosemite Drive in the Indian Canyons neighborhood. If you’re a golfer, you can actually play a round at Indian Canyons North Course and get closer than a driveby. If you’re a man who enjoys full-frontal nudity, check out our men’s swimsuit-optional boutique hotels. (Movie available on premium streamers Paramount & MGM and to rent on Prime, Apple, Vudu.)

We’re only up to the 1980s, and I actually skipped through a few decades of films that aren’t particularly recognizable in name or star, and we’ve still got plenty more to go, but we’ve run out of space this month. And I haven’t even told you about the films shot at some of our small boutique hotels yet.

While planning your next Palm Springs getaway, why not peep a few of the above films, then visit the locations when you get here. Fun! And when you stay and shop local you keep Palm Springs keeping on which means good karma!

I’ll see you next time because this will be continued…

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Movies, Concerts, And More Await At The Palm Springs Cultural Center

The Palm Springs Cultural Center, less than two miles from Downtown Palm Springs, serves as a hub for many of our cultural experiences. It also is a great place to mingle with locals and learn more about our city.

50 years in Palm Springs

A black and white photo shows the Camelot Theater in Palm Springs as it looked when it opened in the late 1960s

The Camelot Theatre in its early days. Photo courtesy of the Palm Springs Cultural Center

The center originally opened in February 1967 as the Camelot Theatre, with a 625-seat auditorium, and in 1971, Camelot II was built next door. The theatre was in the Palm Springs Mall, and due to harsh economic conditions, it closed in January 1992. Palm Springs Mall management saved it from the wrecking ball, though it remained an empty space for eight years.

In 1999, it was purchased by Ric and Rozene Supple, who renovated the theatre and added state-of-the-art equipment. They eventually donated the building, and it was renamed the Palm Springs Cultural Center in 2018.

Today’s Palm Springs Cultural Center

Fresh onions and greens grown at local farms for sale at the Certified Farmers Market at the Palm Springs Cultural Center

Fresh produce can be found every Saturday at the Palm Springs Cultural Center’s Certified Farmers Market. Photo by Kathy Condon

Under the guidance of Executive Director Michael Green, who is also co-owner of The Triangle Inn, the Palm Springs Cultural Center hosts screenings and events throughout the year. Every January, many films from the International Film Festival are shown here, and in March, AmDocs takes over all three theatres and welcomes directors and producers from all over the world.

When no special events are taking place, current and vintage movies are shown in the 125-seat or 625-seat auditoriums. By the way, they have great popcorn with real butter.

On the grounds surrounding the Palm Springs Cultural Center, a Certified Farmers Market is held on Saturdays, offering everything from flowers to fresh produce from outlying farms. It is a time when locals flock here to buy homemade bread, listen to music, and gather their produce for the week’s meals.

Follow the winding staircase

A staircase leads upstairs to the VIP Lounge at the Palm Springs Cultural Center

Take this staircase up to the VIP Lounge and a guaranteed good time. Photo by Kathy Condon

Walking into the center to the right of the door, you will notice a staircase. This winds its way to the second floor, where you will enter a space filled with tables, an outdoor patio, and a bar waiting to serve you your favorite cocktail.

Recently, I attended a live performance by Gregory Douglass here in the VIP Lounge. About 50 of us mingled, ordered cocktails, and settled in to listen to Gregory — a fellow blogger for Boutiquely Palm Springs — perform some of his original songs. Gregory is a transplant via Vermont, where he wrote his songs and produced and released 10 albums.

With his keyboard and guitars strategically placed at one end of the lounge, Gregory warmly welcomed us with his broad smile and immediately revealed his sense of humor. The intimate setting made us feel like we were visiting a secret salon.

We were honored to hear two newly written songs, which will be on his 11th album and had never before been performed in front of an audience. In between, he shared anecdotes about his life and thoughts when creating his music. There was much laughter; Gregory displayed genuine awareness of the audience throughout the evening and did not shy away from sharing the bloopers in this life and performance.

A man in a striped shirt and a woman in a green dress pose in front of a keyboard at the Palm Springs Cultural Center

Kathy Condon and Gregory Douglass pose after Gregory’s VIP Lounge performance. Photo courtesy of Kathy Condon

I asked Gregory about performing in the VIP Lounge, and he revealed that it “fills my heart to have friends and local music lovers take a chance on an evening of (mostly) original music. I think it is such a powerful exchange with the audience to perform my emotionally-centered songs in an intimate setting like the Palm Springs Cultural Center VIP Lounge.”

The VIP Lounge is often a pre-show cocktail location for special events and shows. However, as Gregory notes, it is also a great place to learn about and discover artists living in the area. As a side benefit, it is small enough to allow one to mingle with locals and talk to the artists before and after their performances.

The Palm Springs Cultural Center’s breadth of events continues to introduce people to new talent, vintage films, and creative endeavors of individuals who are either starting or reviving their careers. Before you visit Palm Springs, check out the center’s website and sign up for its newsletter so you can find out what’s happening while you’re in town.

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Palm Springs In The Movies — From ‘A Star Is Born’ to ‘MI3’

As promised in my previous blog, I’m back with more fun Palm Springs film facts. I would like to start by saying, just for giggles, I  decided to get ChatGPT involved, to see if it had any more information than just the norm. So I asked, “What movies were shot in Palm Springs?” and it gave me a list including Springtime in the Rockies. When I asked where in Palm Springs, well, it turns out, ChatGPT lies. First it told me that Springtime in the Rockies was filmed entirely in Pennsylvania, and when I called it out for giving me two different returns, it apologized. At least it didn’t say, “I’m only human.”

The ChatGPT disputed truth is that there were a couple of scenes shot in Palm Springs, but no one seems to know where (certainly not ChatGPT). The film is available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime, Apple TV channels, FuboTV, FlixFling, The Roku Channel, and the Epix suite, but being that it was shot in 1937, it will be hard to recognize anything local unless you’re a ghost.

And you know what film wasn’t shot in Palm Springs? At all? The Andy Samberg feature Palm Springs. I know! I’m just as shocked as you are. It was actually shot in L.A. and Santa Clarita, because nothing says Palm Springs like not Palm Springs. Now, onto the 1990s and beyond.

The Player (1992)

This film is Palm Springs adjacent, in Desert Hot Springs, at Two Bunch Palms, a gorgeous retreat that has been favored by Hollywood players for many years. There are apocryphal stories about it once being owned by Al Capone, but Capone didn’t do business this far west. That was fellow mobster Al Wertheimer, capo of Detroit’s Purple Gang — but he didn’t own it either. The reason for the gangster stories is that there is a gun turret, and (they say) some underground “tunnels.” The last bit of info we got was that it was actually the estate of a Ford executive who was worried about the unions coming after him.

I mentioned Wertheimer, who built Colony Palms (there’s an underground room where there was gaming, a.k.a. gambling). It’s said Capone did visit Two Bunch on the occasion, and the property has a Capone room with, I’ve heard, a bullet hole in the wall. But the entire Palm Springs area was still the wild wild west at the time, and everybody had guns. And booze. So, who knows who shot the wall. Available on MAX and the usual suspects for rental.

Ocean’s Eleven (2001)

Elliot Gould’s Vegas home is in a neighborhood called Las Palmas. The 1959 A. Quincy Jones designed property is located at 999 North Patencio Road in Palm Springs. Watch on cable (TBS and TNT) or rent on Prime or Apple.

Mission Impossible III (2006)

Mission Impossible III has Tom Cruise dodging our giant turbines in a high speed helicopter chase. The Windmills, by the way, are a great tour, you should give it a go. (To clarify, the tour is on the ground, in a vehicle, not in the sky in a helicopter – but you can ride in a warbird at the Air Museum, if that’s your speed). Check it out on AMC or Paramount+ subs. Rentals on Apple, Vudu, Redbox.

Into the Wild (2007)

This wonderfully shot film has a grim ending, but the cinematography lovingly captures the beauty and grit of the west’s wilderness. The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway is in one scene, but it also takes you to the Salton Sea, Salvation Mountain, Slab City, and East Jesus. This was Kristen Stewart’s first film as an “adult” (her debut was the daughter in Panic Room) and she sings. The following year, Twilight came out (about eight years before she did). Free on PlutoTV, pay at all the other streamers.

A Star is Born (2018)

There were casting calls going out all over the valley for this one. They needed a big crowd, and they got it. That was partially because they “crashed” Stagecoach, the country version of Coachella — same place, different weekends, way different crowd. They also shot at the Palm Springs Convention Center. Local stories about the cast and crew were all lovely.

Oh man. I’m all out of space, and there’s still a bit more to share, including cameos from a couple of our Palm Springs Preferred Small Hotels. We might even get into some television shows that were shot here. Who knows? I’m a mystery!

Stay tuned…

NOTE: Now through October 30, Rex, the Cabazon dinosaur, is wearing a new outfit in honor of his pal, Pee Wee Herman, a.k.a. Paul Reubens. Rex was prominently featured in Pee Wee’s Big Adventure. Reubens shuffled off this mortal coil on July 30, and has hopefully landed safely in his celestial playhouse having some suds with Cap’n Carl, a.k.a. Phil Hartman. 

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