Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story Page #3

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She learned those few lines

on the boat to convince

Louis B. Mayer that he should

hire her as an actress.

She created her own reality,

and I find that

really fascinating.

You know, when things

don't come easy

figure out why...

and then do something about it.

And if people...

walk over you

then don't let them!

She stepped off

the ship in New York

to crowds

of flashing light bulbs

and reporters firing questions

at her as Hedy Lamarr,

the latest discovery

of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Hello, everybody,

this is Hedda Hopper

reporting to you from Hollywood,

that fabulous place

where everyone wants to live

but seldom does.

In Hollywood,

she was kicking her heels

and listening to music

and being free.

She was a little bit worried

because the contract,

it had kind of a trial time

before they used her,

and she wasn't getting

any movies or parts

and she was very insecure

that they didn't want her,

especially since

she made Ecstasy

and that was kind of

a black mark on her.

Right from the beginning,

one of her first interviews

is with Hedda Hopper, who was

the famous gossip columnist.

That's where she does

her greatest acting

is for Hedda Hopper,

crying tears

about how she was forced

into this nude scene

and somehow perverted

by these European filmmakers

who have no morals whatsoever.

And then,

my mother went to a party

by chance one night,

and Charles Boyer was there

and he was smitten by her.

And he said,

"Can you be in my movie?"

"Oh, no, no, no, my English

isn't good enough, no."

And he took her hand, kissed it,

he said, "I'll hold your hand

through the whole film."

- "You will?"

- "Yes."

"All right, I'll do it."

So, that's how that started.

Charles Boyer

was a diamond thief.

She had diamonds.

He thought she was a wealthy,

noble-born French woman.

He didn't realize that she was

another scamp like him

from the streets of Paris.

There's a wonderful line

in the film where he says,

"What did you do before?"

Before what?

Before the jewels.

I wanted them.

That film made her

a star instantly.

When I was a kid,

I saw her in Algiers,

I said,

"I'm gonna get to Hollywood

and I'm gonna marry her.

And if I don't get to marry her,

I'll get to buy her dinner

and feel her up under the table.

Whatever I can get."

After Algiers,

Hedy Lamarr was on the cover

of all the movie magazines.

Suddenly,

you have in Hollywood,

a lot of women parting

their hair in the middle,

darkening it,

and changing their makeup

to be little Hedy Lamarrs.

Every woman wanted to be Hedy

and every man

wanted to date her.

She seduced men and women.

She was able to meet

artists, directors,

brilliant actors,

the greats at that time.

Including Kennedy,

whom I knew very well.

Oh really?

Yeah,

before he became president.

He asked me out.

So he said,

"What can I bring you?"

and I said, "Oranges,"

because...

I lack vitamin C.

Would you believe

any other person

would've asked, "Oranges"?

That's the way I am.

A fool!

No matter what,

you expect Hedy Lamarr

to be glamorous, sophisticated.

Quite the opposite,

she loved picnics,

she loved to go

scavenger hunting,

she loved to play Charades.

She wasn't very good at it,

but she had a great time.

You know, no pretenses.

She was fun to be with.

At that point,

she could have married anyone.

She surprised her fans

by choosing

a portly screenwriter

and producer

named Gene Markey.

Her letters show she was

madly in love with him.

"Dearest Mommy,

I never would have thought

that I could ever fall

in love again.

Gene has an unbelievable number

of traits

in common with Dad.

So considerate, it's touching."

He promised Hedy he'd write

screenplays with her.

They even adopted a son.

But within months

of their marriage,

he began dating

other beautiful actresses.

Hedy was heartbroken.

She said people

never got past her face.

You never knew

if they loved you

or their fantasy of you.

"A man does not try

to find out what is inside.

He does not try

to scratch the surface.

If he did, he might find

something much more beautiful

than the shape of a nose

or the color of an eye."

Only a year after Algiers,

not only was

her marriage failing,

her career was in trouble

as well.

She was terribly unhappy

with the films she did for MGM

because Louis B. Mayer

gave her bad scripts

and the films did nothing.

You never got very much

out of this, did you?

I got plenty.

All I asked for,

except the frosting.

Hedy actually went

to Louis B. Mayer

and petitioned for a role

in Boom Town.

I'm going to do it

because I want to.

It was a small part,

and Louis B. Mayer,

at first, was reluctant.

Okay, stranger.

Boom Town was a huge,

tremendous success

for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

After Boom Town,

Hedy Lamarr's career was secure.

It's almost unfathomable

how busy she was in 1940.

They were expected to do

what the studio wanted.

Bette Davis described it

as a "slave system."

And they were owned

in the sense

that they had signed contracts

that bound them to studios

for seven-year periods.

My mother was worked

like a racehorse.

She had to run fast

all the time.

They gave her pills

to wake her up to perform.

Pretty sure it was

some form of speed.

And then, to make them sleep,

they gave them sleeping pills.

They worked six days a week.

Women really had to get

to the studio early

because they had to have

their hair done,

their makeup put on,

their costumes put on.

And then, you know,

they worked into the night.

And here's what's remarkable.

After a grueling day

on the set,

Hedy didn't go to bed.

She wasn't socializing.

Hedy was at home working

on her latest invention.

Inventing was her hobby.

She not only had

a complete inventing table

set up in her house,

but Howard Hughes gave her

a small version

of the set of equipment

which he had in the trailer

where she stayed

in between takes

in her motion pictures.

When Hedy first met

Howard Hughes,

he was dating

every Hollywood star,

and she did date him.

Howard Hughes, of course,

was a great airplane designer,

so probably they had

a compatible spirit

with one another.

It was definitely cerebral

because she said

he was the worst lover

she ever had.

Howard Hughes wanted to build

the fastest planes

in the world

so he could sell them

to the Air Force.

She was fascinated by his mind

and his factories,

and she wanted to go and see

where everything

was being made and built,

and she met all the scientists.

He said to her,

"Anything you want my scientists

to do for you,

just ask 'em

and they will do it."

He relied on me.

I thought the aeroplanes

were too slow,

so I decided that's not right.

They shouldn't be square,

the wings...

So I bought a book of fish

and I bought a book of birds

and then used the fastest bird,

connected it with

the fastest fish.

I drew it together

and showed it to Howard Hughes

and he said,

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