starring Hedy Lamarr
written and directed by Alexandra Dean
88 minutes
Hedy Lamarr was born and raised in Austria. The first of her six marriages happened when she young and still living in Austria. She fled her first husband and her life in Austria when World War 2 was looming on the horizon. She fled first to England and then to the United States. She got work acting in Hollywood at MGM and later directed some of her own projects.
Lamarr's first love wasn't acting but inventing. Her father was also someone who liked to tinker with devices. During World War II she came up with and worked with a scientist to develop an idea that was turned over to the War Department.
The War Department didn't use it during the war but the patent was used starting in the mid-1950s to help develop early drone technology. It was also used to develop GPS, WiFi, and other technology without which the world today would be quite different.
Lamarr was never compensated for her contribution.
This documentary was made using film, photographs, and interviews. There is one audio interview with Hedy Lamarr from the 1990s that is used throughout the movie. Two of her sons, her daughters, and her granddaughter were also interviewed for this documentary.
Its almost certain that part of the reason that Hedy Lamar got treated so poorly was because she was a woman. It seems clear to me that she liked to try new things. Not all of these ventures panned out.
She was married six times but died alone.
She was pushed to use drugs (by studio executives) to help her wake up and get to sleep on time. It was something that stayed with her for the rest of her life.
She liked to tinker including with her own appearance. She was into getting cosmetic surgery before it was common for actresses to do so.
She described herself when she was a teenager as an enfant terrible. Her children describe her as both loving and tough to get along with. The drugs she was taking may have had something to do with her mood swings.
Her career in Hollywood went downhill fast after the mid-1950s. Towards the end of her life she received some recognition for her invention.
I was moved by Hedy Lamarr's story but I'm also a bit torn over how to feel about this documentary. It feels even handed. It shows both her good and bad sides. I'm left feeling that the writer/director must have been similarly torn over her subject.
Since watching the movie I also watched an interview with the director and one of Hedy Lamarr's sons that was done in 2017, when this movie played at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. It helped to answer some questions I had about the movie. It was about a half hour long.
I also went back and listened to the episode of You Must Remember This (podcast) on Hedy Lamarr. It was made a couple years before the movie and focuses more on her Hollywood career. It was about a half hour long.
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