PJFF37 Centerpiece Film: Bombshell – The Hedy Lamarr Story

PHILADELPHIA PREMIERE
Director: Alexandra Dean
Genre: Documentary Feature
Country: USA
Year: 2017
Running Time: 86 min
Language: English

The name Hedy Lamarr cannot help but conjure images of 1930s Hollywood pin-up babes and silver screen icons. A scandal at 18 and an international movie star by 22, Lamarr’s stunningly beautiful face remains among the most recognized and immortalized of the twentieth century.

Lamarr, who achieved international notoriety for her salacious role in the Czech film, Ecstasy (1933), was never quite able to shake off the reputation she earned in what is considered to be the first instance of explicit nudity ever depicted in mainstream film. As her career and romantic life evolved, so too did the endless examination and dissection surrounding her fame. Little did anyone know or care that beneath Lamarr’s exquisite beauty was a refined and ingenious brain that had much more to offer the world.

In BOMBSHELL: THE HEDY LAMARR STORY, Director Alexandra Dean uses four “lost” interviews conducted with Lamarr in 1990 as the basis for a documentary whose mission is to offer voice to the woman Lamarr wanted the world to know. These rare recordings fulfill Lamarr’s desire to be recognized for her intellect and her inventions, the latter of which have arguably served as precursors to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS.

With compelling commentary by family, friends, film scholars, scientists, and technology experts, as well as additional observations by famed director Mel Brooks and actor Diane Kruger, this class-act documentary tells the truly unbelievable story behind the unbelievable bombshell we know as Hedy Lamarr.

Join us after the film for a vintage Hollywood-inspired reception.

Clip: https://youtu.be/d5Rox3Ez2ZQ