In some ways this is a standard documentary on a Hollywood star from its golden years.
Hedy Lamarr did not have much of a film career. She was signed by Louis Mayer on a trip to Europe looking to sign starlets on the cheap before war broke out. Lamarr had caused scandal with a racy continental film called Ecstasy that featured nudity and a simulated orgasm.
Lamarr's best known film is Samson & Delilah but she did not managed to capitalise on it. Instead she went to Europe to produce a film and ended up in debt.
Lamarr had a turbulent private life. Amphetamine addiction thanks to Dr Feelgood, shoplifting and many short lived marriages.
What lifts this documentary was Lamarr's contribution to radio communications, frequency hopping that she co deviced in World War 2. Sadly she did not profit much from it. Lamarr's first husband was in the armaments field in Germany and the documentary examines whether she might had lifted the idea. However Lamarr was a lady full of diverse ideas which included building a ski resort in Colorado and taking skin from hidden parts of the body
Lamarr was a recluse in later life but some tapes were rediscovered where she talked to a journalist about her life and career. It is at least an honest, thought provoking documentary.
Hedy Lamarr did not have much of a film career. She was signed by Louis Mayer on a trip to Europe looking to sign starlets on the cheap before war broke out. Lamarr had caused scandal with a racy continental film called Ecstasy that featured nudity and a simulated orgasm.
Lamarr's best known film is Samson & Delilah but she did not managed to capitalise on it. Instead she went to Europe to produce a film and ended up in debt.
Lamarr had a turbulent private life. Amphetamine addiction thanks to Dr Feelgood, shoplifting and many short lived marriages.
What lifts this documentary was Lamarr's contribution to radio communications, frequency hopping that she co deviced in World War 2. Sadly she did not profit much from it. Lamarr's first husband was in the armaments field in Germany and the documentary examines whether she might had lifted the idea. However Lamarr was a lady full of diverse ideas which included building a ski resort in Colorado and taking skin from hidden parts of the body
Lamarr was a recluse in later life but some tapes were rediscovered where she talked to a journalist about her life and career. It is at least an honest, thought provoking documentary.