Best Movies Filmed in Palm Springs!

From James Bond, Rain Man, Mission Impossible, and Ocean’s Eleven, limousine clients have told us about the hundreds of great movies and films shot in Palm Springs and the greater Coachella Valley. With filming beginning as early as 1915, the Coachella Valley has become a popular place for the movie- and TV productions. Starting with Lone Star Rush (1915), Hollywood discovered Palm Springs early and producers fell in love with the city for a host of reasons. For one, with its sandy deserts, the city made for a great Middle East or Sahara lookalike. 

With the snowy San Jacinto Mountains, scenes with winter climates could also be filmed in the same city. And for the movie scenes with greenery, Temecula was a short drive away with its ever-green rolling vineyards and greenery. Although the city began as an ideal locale for filming Western movies and television series, all genres of films are produced in Palm Springs today. Whether you’d like cinematic limousine tours of the area by our party bus rentals or limo services, transfer to the airport or just to educate yourself on the great cinematic history of the town, these are our limousine services favorite movies filmed in Palm Springs and the larger Coachella Valley!

Top movies

James Bond meets Thumper at Willard Whyte's mansion
(Elrod House)

First of all, did you know Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969) was filmed in the area? Based on the true story, the movie follows Willie Boys' escape from the law through the Mojave Desert. Our Palm Springs limo service and party bus rental company are located in the Willie Boys Saloon and we know all the filming spots for this and other great movies! An example, we've taken tourists from the local airport directly to Willie Boy’s grave, located in the area and a place tourists and others often visit by limo or party bus. 

A maybe more famous movie with scenes filmed here is Ocean’s Eleven (2001). The Vegas home of Reuben Rishkoff in the movie is actually located at 996 N. Patencio Road here in Palm Springs! Furthermore, the home of the film’s producer Jerry Weintraub is also located by the city’s private Bighorn Golf Club. Another movie featuring scenes from Palm Springs is Mission: Impossible III (2006). In this movie, there’s a helicopter chase filmed at the San Gorgonio Pass Windfarm, just outside of the city. Many heads up the Aerial Tram with our party bus and limousine rentals to get a picturesque view of this rather huge windmill park. 

Yet another movie you might not know had scenes from Coachella Valley is James Bond's film Diamonds Are Forever (1971). Where Bond meets up with Thumper and Bambi in the rocky mansion of Willard Whyte in the film, the scene is actually filmed inside the Elrod House, located at 2175 Southridge Dr.

"The Rock" gets attacked by fire ants in Scorpion King
(Anza-Borrego Desert State Park)

Furthermore, did scenes from the movie Scorpion King (2002) look familiar to you? The fire ants scene in this film was filmed at the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, which offers stunning desert views from the film! This nearly 600,000-acre state park in the Colorado Desert is named for its many Bighorn sheep and is California’s biggest state park and one of the largest ones in America. Here people in Palm Springs get limo service or party bus to come to see the magnificent rock formations, and Native American petroglyphs, hike in nature, look for wildlife, and enjoy seeing the location where limousine customers' favorite film was made. While the cable car in Into the Wild (2007) in fact is the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, when Alex stays at Ron’s house in the film it is also located in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. 

The Flamingo resort in the movie Bugsy (1991) is to many’s surprise, not the one located in Las Vegas, but was rather situated in Thermal, CA by the Salton Sea. Numerous scenes from Behind the Candelabra (2013) were filmed in Palm Springs. Liberace’s funeral was for instance held at Our Lady of Solitude Church, a popular destination for limousine services. When the car gets stolen in Constantine (2005), the parking lot at 17729 N. Indian Canyon Drive is where it actually took place!

Epic helicopter chase in Mission: Impossible III
(San Gorgonio Pass Windfarm)

Palm Springs became early a Hollywood celebrity’s favorite resort town with its own Palm Springs International Airport, and consequentially, many early movies were made here. As previously mentioned, the first movie to ever be filmed here was Lone Star Rush (1918), and many movies soon followed. Some examples include Salomé (1918), the Lone Star Ranger (1919), the Orphan (1920), the Leopard Woman (1920), the Covered Wagon (1922), Desert Gold (1926), and many more. Italian-American actor Rudolph Valentino played in numerous films here, including The Sheikh (1921) and later The Son of the Sheikh (1926). As these stories took place in the North African Saharan desert, the producers looked for a similar climate and geology and decided on filming the movies in the Palm Springs deserts. The same was the case for numerous movies to follow, due to the early opened airport. Some of these include A Night in Casablanca (1946) and Sahara (1943). 

A film that won four Oscars, Rain Man (1988), has numerous scenes filmed in the area. The shop where Tom Cruise puts sunscreen on Dustin Hoffman’s nose is in Windy Point on Highway 111. This convenience store is located at 60490 Overture Dr in Palm Springs and is a popular limo service or party bus destination for people who love the film! The windmills by the highway are also featured in the movie and can be a cool stop for limo or party bus rentals. Many tourists and locals enjoy seeing where scenes from Lethal Weapon 2 (1989) and American Gigolo (1980) were filmed. We recently had international tourists flying in and using our airport transfers to see the Rheiman’s home from American Gigolo, which is located at 2389 Yosemite. Another popular place includes the Cliffhouse restaurant in La Quinta featured in City of Industry (1997), located at 78250 Highway 111. The La Quinta Resort Hotel was used for several scenes in Hart To Hart (1979-1984) and is therefore also a trending destination for limousine and party bus rental.

See also 6 Best Palm Springs Tours! Featuring Camel-Riding, Balloon Rides, Celebrity Homes, and More!

Even more TV series have used Palm Springs as a filming spot. The city has been featured in everything from the Real L Word (in 2010), Real Housewives of Orange County (2010 and 2011), Amazing Race (2011), Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (2006), Cops (2006 and 2007), the O.C. (2004), Mad Men (2008), the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990), and many, many more. Many actors in these have used local limousine services. 

I Love Lucy has for example many episodes filmed here in the ’50s including episode 26 of season 4 from 1955. Whether to go on a cinematic tour to your favorite filming locations, rentals, transfer to the airport, or just for a luxurious day or night out in Palm Springs, call us for an unforgettable Palm Springs limo service experience in Southern California!