THE LAMARR LOOK
frequency hopping which she developed after the Allies suffered devastating losses at sea at the hands of Nazi submarines. She submitted her solution to the US Navy, who – and this is the biggest story – weren’t interested because she was 1. A woman, 2. Beautiful, and 3. An alien – although the US government used her to sell war bonds, which she did, with patriotic flair, raising the equivalent of $300million for the war effort.
In 1959, after her patent had expired, the navy adopted radio frequency, but by then Hedy was washed up, hooked on amphetamines (Cecil B used to call a man called Dr Feelgood on to his sets to administer to many of his stars) and increasingly bad plastic surgery that ruined
her features, getting occasional parts that were way beneath her.
She died in 2000, aged
86, hard up and reclusive. She had been frustrated by her extraordinary beauty in her youth but she missed it terribly once it began to fade. When the press excoriated her for her butchered face (they began tormenting her for being old and hideous when she was in her early fifties), she withdrew from the public. Radio frequency hopping was a precursor to Wi-fi, GPS and Bluetooth – it’s estimated that had Hedy been able to make good on her patent, it would be worth about $300billion today.
It seems tragic, from start to end. Yet Alexandra Dean and Susan Sarandon, who as director and producer respectively of Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story spoke at a screening of the film on International Women’s Day this week, don’t necessarily see it that way, even though Dean says she still receives daily tweets – almost always from men – who refuse to believe she invented anything. “Hedy had this wisdom at the end of her life that you can hear in the poem that she recorded on her children’s answerphones,” says Dean. “Her message to the next generation is that you might not ever be seen for who you really are or receive the recognition you deserve, but do it anyway. That’s what gives your life meaning.” She never stopped dressing up, either.
To hear the poem in full – and discover more about this extraordinary woman – watch the film (in selected cinemas or on itunes). It’s fascinating – and will make you angry as well as inspired.