On the following two pages we include home movies, newsreels, sponsored films and even a trailer featuring Palm Springs and the surrounding area that are housed in other collections such as the Prelinger Archives, Sherman Grinberg Film Library, and other libraries’ special collections or repositories that have shared their digitized copies online. (*See note below about viewing tips.)
Also visit Palm Springs Historical Society, Historical Society of Palm Desert, Coachella Valley History Museum, Sunnylands, and other local archives and libraries in person to view their films and videos.
“I. Magnin Palm Springs Store Opening,” October 17, 1985. Courtesy of San Francisco Public Library, San Francisco History Center via Internet Archive.
[Groovy TV Show, filmed in Santa Monica Summer 1967 and Ruth Hardy Park, Palm Springs, on October 15, 1967.] 8mm. Silent (sadly). Color. Courtesy of Palm Springs Department of Parks and Recreation (donor Beth Campbell whose father was the camera person). Groovy, aka The Groovy Show, aka The Groovy Game aired at 6pm on Los Angeles station KHJ-TV Channel 9. The bands are The Bantams and possibly The Seeds and members of The Strawberry Alarm Clock. You can read more about Groovy here. Ruth Hardy footage starts at 13:19. Contact PS Parks and Rec. for permission to use this copy we digitized for them.
[Palm Springs, Nite Signs], 1952, Southern California Edison. Silent. Courtesy of The Huntington Library via Internet Archive.
“Desert Trip / Palm Springs,” 1942, Allan Hancock Foundation Archive. Silent. Courtesy of University of Southern California Libraries, Special Collections via Internet Archive.
“Palm Springs,” n.d., by Ed Mannion. Silent. Courtesy of Petaluma Museum Historical Library & Museum via Internet Archive.
Southern California Holiday, 1940s, by Santa Fe Railroad. Sound. Courtesy of Periscope Film via Internet Archive.
Miracle at Palm Springs, by Sid Davis Productions, ca.1970s. Sound. Courtesy of Prelinger Archives via Internet Archive.
America! “The Palm Springs Scene,” with Jack Douglas, ca. 1960s. Sound. Courtesy of Periscope Film via Internet Archive.
Sunkist Stars At Palm Springs, by MGM, 1936. Sound. Courtesy of Internet Archive and MGM.
“James Stewart/ Arthur Godfrey at International Aeroclassic Air Show Palm Springs,” ca. 1960s. Sound. Courtesy of Periscope Film via Internet Archive.
Where The Summer Spends The Winter, by Johnson-Hunt, ca. 1954. Sound. Courtesy of Academic Film Archive of North America via Internet Archive.
“Dewenter Home Movies: Misc. 5,” by Henry & Elizabeth Dewenter, 1927. Silent. Courtesy of The Center for Home Movies via Internet Archive.
Eegah, by Arch Hall Sr, 1962. Sound. Courtesy of Internet Archive.
The World Parade: “California Picture Book,” ca. 1940s. Sound. Courtesy of Periscope Film via Internet Archive.
Caught Mapping by Jam Handy Corporation, 1940. Sound. Courtesy of Prelinger Archives via Internet Archive.
America’s Desert Oasis (incomplete?), by Palm Springs Rotary Club (Written/directed by Austin Green), ca. 1950s. Sound. Courtesy of Periscope Film via Internet Archive.
Geologist’s Scrap Book, by E.W. Hammons, ca.1920s/1930s. Silent with intertitles. Courtesy of Prelinger Archives via Internet Archive.
[Home Movies: Can 10373: Pietsch Collection: California Trips, Boulder Dam, etc.], by Pietsch (John) Family, 1941-1942. Silent. Courtesy of Prelinger Archives via Internet Archive.
“ALCF Arthur H Virtue Home Movies Clip 9196,” by Arthur H. Virtue, ca. 1970s. Silent. Courtesy of Al Larvick Fund via Internet Archive.
“Palm Springs,” by Save-the-Redwoods League, 1928. Silent. Courtesy of The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley via Internet Archive.
Bob Hope’s Yellow Ribbon Party, aired April 6, 1991. Sound. Courtesy of Internet Archive. A Bob Hope special “welcome home” celebration for U.S. troops returning from Persian Gulf War. Filmed at his home in Palm Springs.
“Riverside County Fair & National Date Festival History – 16MM Film 1949-1960,” by Riverside County Office of Economic Development and Coachella Valley History Museum, 2021. Sound. Courtesy of Riverside County Office of Economic Development via YouTube.
“Truck wreck, 1956-12-04, Snow storm and picnic Jan 27, Palm Springs, Louis and Genevia, Wrightwood snow Feb 3.” Silent. Courtesy of Ontario City Library, Robert E. Ellingwood Model Colony History Room via Internet Archive.
Rugged Desert, 1961. Sound. History and culture of the Cahuilla, reenactment of typical days in the lives of (Cahuilla) Katherine Siva Saubel’s grandparents, hunting and gathering, their diet, initiation rituals, games, etc. Courtesy of Tribesourcing Southwest Film project.
“Paulette Goddard?, George Gershwin in Palm Springs–Ira Gershwin–Home Movies.” ca. 1930s. Silent. Courtesy of the Library of Congress via YouTube.
[Home movie: 000404: 1950s African American family, Long Beach.] Silent. Courtesy of Prelinger Archives via Internet Archive. Includes footage of the (then segregated) Thunderbird Country Club in Rancho Mirage and glimpses of Indio.
“Dewenter Home Movies: Misc.,” by Henry & Elizabeth Dewenter, 1950. Silent. Courtesy of The Center For Home Movies via Internet Archive.
“Dewenter Home Movies: Misc. 6,” by Henry & Elizabeth Dewenter, 1927. Silent. Courtesy of The Center for Home Movies via Internet Archive.
“College of the Desert Groundbreaking 1961.” Added music. Courtesy of the Comeau family via YouTube. See more of the Comeau family films here.
Palm Springs Area Films in Other Collections | Page 2
*Note: Those visitors viewing on smart phones should wait for these pages to fully load. Also those who encounter difficulties viewing Internet Archive videos full-screen on their smart phones, click on the 
icon and the video will open in another browser window of its own. For best viewing experience, choose the 720p or higher setting on the player when available.