View Gallery

Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story
Directed by Alexandra Dean

“Not just a stupendous tribute to Lamarr, but also a tribute to every brilliant woman ignored.”—Kristy Puchko, Nerdist

What are the chances that the hottest pinup idol of the 1930s was also a genius who foresaw Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and cell phone technology? She was one in a million: Hedy Lamarr.

Lamarr, an impossibly stunning beauty, achieved international notoriety when she casually swam nude in the 1933 Czech Gustav Mahaty film Ecstasy. As this was the first time such nudity had ever been depicted in a mainstream film, this daughter of a Jewish Viennese banker went on to become a sex symbol for the ages and a top Hollywood star—something that was of little interest to her.

Her deeper passion had to do with mechanics and technology. She entertained her prodigious brain with useful inventions to benefit mankind. During World War II she developed the concept of “frequency hopping,” which she patented, to enable radio-controlled torpedoes to sink Nazi U-boats. The Navy paternalistically dismissed her ideas. Bombshell (with its double-meaning title) is the story of an unusual and accomplished woman, who was spurned as too beautiful to be smart, but still remains a role model to this day. A selection of the Tribeca Film Festival. 2017, U.S., DCP, 90 minutes. Rated PG.