What do the most ravishingly beautiful actress of the 1930s and 40s and the inventor whose concepts were the basis of cell phone and bluetooth technology have in common? They are both Hedy Lamarr, the glamour icon.
Hollywood star Hedy Lamarr was known as the world's most beautiful woman — Snow White and Cat Woman were both based on her iconic look. However, her arresting looks and glamorous life stood in the way of her being given the credit she deserved as an ingenious inventor whose pioneering work helped revolutionize modern communication.
Mislabeled as “just another pretty face,” Hedy’s true legacy is that of a technological trailblazer. She was an Austrian Jewish emigre who invented a covert communication system to try and help defeat the Nazis, then gave her patent to the Navy, but was ignored and told to sell kisses for war bonds instead. It was only towards the very end of her life that tech pioneers discovered her concept which is now used as the basis for secure WiFi, GPS and Bluetooth. Hedy never publicly talked about her life as an inventor and so her family thought her story died when she did. But in 2016, director Alexandra Dean and producer Adam Haggiag unearthed four never-before-heard audio tapes of Hedy speaking on the record about her incredible life.
Combining this newly discovered interview with intimate reflections from her children, closest friends, family and admirers, including Mel Brooks and Robert Osborne, “Bombshell” (executive produced by Susan Sarandon, Michael Kantor and Regina Scully) finally gives Hedy Lamarr the chance to tell her own story. The film brings to light the story of an unusual and accomplished woman, spurned as too beautiful to be smart, but a role model to this day.
The film is returning to Sedona by popular demand after two sold out screenings at the recent Sedona International Film Festival. It was the first film to sell out weeks before the festival opened.