Hollywood Star's Wartime Secret Becomes a Screenplay

NY Times (Science Times) ^ | May 4, 2004 | KENNETH CHANG

[Pharmboy]

Both of these women were robbed; but, it happens a lot. And to men too, from what I understand.

[The G Man]

I always thought it was Hedley Lamar.

[grellis]

Oy! You beat me to it!

[Steely Tom]

Hedy Lamarr == Serious Knockout.

Want to see how serious? Check out the oldie "Boom Town," with Spencer Tracey and Clark Gable.

It's also a good, old fashioned success story that celebrates American culture.

(steely)

[Pharmboy]

You can say that again!

[Pharmboy]

All this and brains too!

[Pharmboy]

Rosalind was no Hedy, but not far from cute here...

[Steely Tom]

Yeah, OK, thanks for the picture, but...

In my opinion, it doesn't do justice to her; it doesn't depict just what a human candy cane of a babe she was.

IIRC, she once contributed to a USO fund drive by auctioning off a single kiss for $10K, and the dollar was worth a bit more then than it is today!

(steely)

[Sam the Sham]

This makes a fascinating story. A geek composer who is working alongside this spectacularly beautiful woman who happens to be brilliant. Was he madly in love with her ? Trying to fight being madly in love with her ? Knowing all the while she is light years out of his reach ? Gay ?

Some years ago, Corel had a contest for the most creative use of their graphic software. The winner created this absolutely haunting sketch of Hedy Lamarr which Corel liked so much that they put on the cover of their product.

[Sam the Sham]

A second thought.

I can only think of one actress who could play Hedy Lamarr.

Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Only she has that kind of dark, smouldering, stunning beauty.

[Steely Tom]

A geek composer who is working alongside this spectacularly beautiful woman who happens to be brilliant. Was he madly in love with her ? Trying to fight being madly in love with her ? Knowing all the while she is light years out of his reach ? Gay ?

That's just what I was thinking too. I would pay to see a movie done from his point of view.

As for your observation about Catherine Zeta Jones, I would agree, except that CZJ doesn't show evidence of HL's intelligence. The only movie I've seen her in is "Boom Town" (to which I referred earlier), and in that movie her brainyness came across as a very subtle sense that she was just having fun, that she didn't take any of it seriously. CZJ doesn't seem (to me) to have that.

Obviously, it's also possible that I'm reading into HL's performance things that were learned from the historical record. If so, I plead guilty, but it only shows how a man's appreciation of a the beauty of a woman is influenced by factors other than surface appearance.

(steely)

[Constitution Day]

[Sir Gawain]

What's sad is, I only now understand that joke. Just now.

[GraniteStateConservative]

How about a date with Hedy Lamar? You gonna git it.
If you want it, baby.

[Dr. Scarpetta]

Lamarr's insight was to realize that continuously and randomly changing the radio frequencies would defy jamming. In early 1940, she and the composer George Antheil devised a system for airplanes to direct torpedoes toward their targets.

BUMP

[-YYZ-]

"In the late 50's, the frequency-hopping idea began to be used in military computer chips."

Highly unlikely, as the IC didn't exist until, what, the late 60's at the earliest? And anything that could be considered a computer chip didn't exist until the 70's.

[nmh]

She certainly was a stunning woman however I'd bet Hollywood will distort her. They'll probably play up the nude scene and turn her into the cold hearted feminist of today.

[CaptainK]

"Had she been born in another era," the writer said, "she could have really gone for it and lived up to her potential."

That's a bit presumptuous. Hedy seemed to have done what she wanted to do and did very well for herself.

[Petronski]

Merchant Ivory will do this story justice. I was afraid it might be those sugary bastards at Disney working on this.