During her acting heyday, Hedy Lamarr was described as “the most beautiful woman in the world.” The Austria native was well-known in Hollywood in the 1930s for her appearance in the German film Ecstasy, which featured her entirely nude in one memorable scene, and soon became a part of the American movie industry thanks to a contract with Louis B. Mayer. But there’s much more to the inimitable Lamarr than meets the eye, and a new documentary entitled Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story seeks to unmask the true story behind a woman who should be remembered for much more than just her beauty.

Lamarr’s story began in a Jewish home in Vienna. Her early marriage to a rich Austrian man closely connected with both Mussolini and Hitler started her career out in Europe, but she soon fled to Paris and then came to the United States with the promise of an exciting film career. She starred in some memorable movies, to be sure, but her legacy doesn’t compare to the likes of other actresses of the time, and her final film appearance came just twenty years after her Hollywood debut.

The way in which Lamarr was used by the moviemaking industry is particularly disturbing, with stories of how she would be given speed in the morning to wake her up and sleeping pills at night to put her to sleep so that she, like other actresses, could be ready to function at exactly the moments when she was needed to fulfill her contract. Her twenty-five-year relationship with Dr. Max Jacobson, better known as Dr. Feelgood, meant that she was constantly being medicated and rarely able to function as a person normally should, leading her to become a recluse, get arrested for shoplifting, and even sending a stand-in for herself at a divorce hearing (to predictably poor results).

Through all of this, Lamarr was still a pioneer in the area of technological innovation. She was responsible for developing a frequency hopping system designed to combat frequency jamming by the Nazis during World War II, a system that was put to much more use by the United States later on and is attributed as an early inspiration for modern-day tenets such as wi-fi. Much more than just a pretty face, Lamarr was decades ahead of others in the science and technology industry and eager to have her ideas come to fruition.

Lamarr’s Jewishness wasn’t something that she discussed often since it was seen as a black mark on her purity as an actress, and she had also been married to a man considered to be a Nazi sympathizer. This history led many to believe that she was a spy, deliberately sent to sabotage Allied war efforts, when it couldn’t have been further from the truth. Bombshell shows that amongst the many unfair aspects of her life, Lamarr was extremely under-appreciated as a scientist in her time. Even the patent she received for a “Secret Communication System” didn’t give her the rights it should have. Her little-known contribution, only acknowledged many years later, is reminiscent of Alan Turing’s story, brought to life on screen in The Imitation Game a few years ago.

In a fascinating anecdote, this film also shows that Lamarr’s two lives, as scientist and actress, converged in an unexpected way. As she aged, Lamarr had a good deal of plastic surgery and took an active role in telling the surgeons what to do, figuring out innovative ways of continuing to look young. Actresses, both at the time and after, would ask for whatever Lamarr had suggested, showing her influence and the respect people had for her. Lamarr died in 2000, more or less a recluse by the time of her passing at age 85.

This documentary does a superb job detailing Lamarr’s life and uncovering her true personality through interviews with her adult children and with others who interacted with her during her life, including Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, and Peter Bogdanovich. German-born actress Diane Kruger is also featured, discussing Lamarr as a role model for those who come from Europe to make it in Hollywood. Much of Lamarr’s story features disappointing and unfair developments, and this documentary manages to convey it all in an engaging and, yes, entertaining manner.

Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story opens Friday, November, 24, at the IFC Center in New York City, and is slated to screen at a number of Jewish film festivals after that.

Image via Zeitgeist Films

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYcx43AmAyY

Here’s the thing: It gives one great hope that one can be, say, an academic, and be portrayed in a film by Rachel Weisz. This isn’t to denigrate Lipstadt’s appearance or Weisz’s acting abilities; they just really don’t look alike. Still, at least Weisz is actually a Jewish woman portraying a Jewish woman.

This got me thinking: Who plays Jewish women in biopics, and what do they look like? I dove down the worst kind of rabbit hole: Wikipedia.

In a list of biopics (film or TV), Jews don’t tend to come up often; we’re a minority, fine. But (with the exception of Holocaust movies, ugh) Jewish women seem to be a rarity, and have films depicting their lives and accomplishments far less frequently than men. Furthermore, the women more often tend to be “glammed up” with their casting. It’s easier to be an accomplished actor without outlying attractiveness if you’re a man, and this is especially clear in biopics.

Male Jewish real-life folks on screen have a range of portrayals— in recent or prominent films depicting Jewish men, we’ve had Peter Sarsgaard as Stanley Milgram, Vincent D’Onofrio as Abbie Hoffman,Kevin Spacey as Jack Abromoff, and Jim Carrey as Andy Kaufman. None of these men (actors or subjects) read immediately as heartthrobs, and none of the actors are Jewish. Or, you can have schlubby-coded Jewish men play these roles (very recently, Jonah Hill has portrayed Michael Finkel and Efraim Diveroli).

Occasionally, you can have heartthrobs portray Jewish characters: take Allen Ginsberg, who’s been portrayed by both James Franco  and Daniel Radcliffe (both of Jewish descent).

So what of the ladies?

It’s so hard to find real Jewish women portrayed on screen, particularly as the leads, and especially if you remove Holocaust victims and Biblical characters (enough Christian-made films about Esther. Please).

Somewhat recent Jewish women on film include:

• Keira Knightley as psychoanalyst Sabina Spielrein— Jon Stewart once aptly said of Knightley that she “acts with cheekbones so improbable they were probably sprinkled with God Dust,” though to be fair, this film also cast Viggo Mortensen as Sigmund Freud, so, an upgrade all around.
  
• Helen Mirren has played Ayn Rand. I’m not even going to touch how ludicrous that is.
  
• An upcoming HBO series about the Madoffs (Bernie is Robert De Niro) has Michelle Pfeiffer as Ruth Madoff.

Note that all of these woman are both Hollywood standards of attractive, and also not Jewish. Once again, there are exceptions; Natalie Portman plays Ruth Bader Ginsburg in an upcoming film, and she’s a Jewish actor. And Gertrude Stein has been played by a range of wonderful actors not cut from the Hollywood glamor mold, both Jewish (like Miriam Margolyes) and Gentile (like Kathy Bates). But honestly, the sample size is too small to get any reliable patterns, which in and of itself is telling.

And so, keep an eye out for my next piece: A list of ideas for Jewish female actresses that could easily star in biopics, and ideas for  who they might portray. We need more examples, period.

In the meantime, please comment below, or tweet Jewcy with your own ideas.  Try to keep both actor and subject of Jewish descent, and if possible, avoid movies about sex symbols,  therefore repeating casting the same three gorgeous Hollywood actors. As in, try to resist casting Mila Kunis as Hedy Lamarr, as great as that might be.

Images via YouTube

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SCORPIO (OCTOBER 21-NOVEMBER 20): Shaineh shveigen iz shener vi shain reden: Dignified silence is better than dignified speech.

Ancient Hebrews knew Scorpio as Lesath (Lesha), the perverse. The fixed water sign, Scorpio is the most misunderstood of all the signs. A natural detective, you’re the sign of intensity. Ruled by the stinging scorpion and the majestic eagle, Scorpios are capable of the highest highs and lowest lows—this sign has more extremes than any other.

You are a secret force of nature, best known for your seething magnetism, passion, and mystery. At best, you are quick in critical thought, perceptive, and able to sense the moods and thoughts of others. At worst, you are uncompromising and exacting, suspicious, cruel—as stubborn as the other fixed signs but with a vindictiveness that can spell danger.

Magnetic Scorpio is a sign of attachment. Your feelings of attraction and repulsion are pronounced. But make an effort to be more open; at a distance you fool others, close at hand just yourself—Fun vaytn nart men laytn, fun neont zikh aleyn—it will also reduce miscommunications

Saturn will remain in Scorpio until September 19, 2015. During this time, make an effort to relinquish bad habits. The Taurus full moon on October 29 illuminates relationships, reflecting your emotions back to you and helping you realize the root of your passions. Just in time for Halloween, you devils. Your self-awareness shines through with the new moon solar eclipse in your sign on November 13.  After the Mercury retrograde period (November 6-26), and when Neptune turns direct on November 11, you may experience some breakthroughs. 

Famous Scorpio Jews: Mike D, Ad-Rock, Fran Lebowitz, Winona Ryder, Larry King, Rodney Dangerfield, Drake, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Judge Judy, Fanny Brice, Hedy Lamarr, Benjamin Netanyahu, Henry Winkler, Roy Lichtenstein, Carrie Fisher (half-Jewish), Art Garfunkel, Jeff Goldblum, Maggie Gyllenhaal (half-Jewish).

SAGITTARIUS (NOVEMBER 21-DECEMBER 20): With your ruling planet Jupiter in retrograde from October 4 to January 30, you may find yourself reminiscing about ghosts from your past. Use this time listen to what your instincts are telling you. The full moon on the 29th encourages you to sit back, relax, and put your feet up already—you deserve it!

CAPRICORN (DECEMBER 21-JANUARY 20): The full moon in Taurus, the most sensual of earth signs, urges you to put your work down and go out and play. Your ruling planet, Saturn, is in Scorpio for the next few years, encouraging you to commit to a goal and see it through to the end. Take this with a grain of salt: All work and no play make Jack a dull boy.

AQUARIUS (JANUARY 21-FEBRUARY 20): It’s either all or nothing—Oder gor oder gornisht—for you Aquarians. You may be getting cold feet about a current romantic entanglement. Go back to your roots: spending some time with family may offer clues for how you can incorporate romance into your scheme of things.

PISCES (FEBRUARY 21-MARCH 20): Your ruling planet Neptune turns direct on November 11. If you’ve been extra sensitive to the energies around you, you may find some relief when this period of intense inward-looking ends. While you may have to go against your nature and think about the practical, mundane things in life, there are ways to maintain your imagination and optimism throughout.

ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 20): You Aries have a tendency to put your foot in your mouth. While the headstrong schvitzer (show-off) between your ears may motivate you to achieve your goals, be careful that you don’t work so hard that you burn out. Ambition is a good thing as long as you stay grounded in reality.

TAURUS (APRIL 21- MAY 20): Languorous Tauruses don’t always strike when the iron is hot. Although you have no shortage of dreams, it takes some time for you to bring them to fruition. The full moon in your sign on October 29 cautions you to watch your boundaries with your emotions.

GEMINI (MAY 21- JUNE 20): Mercury turns retrograde from November 6 to 26, frustrating your instincts. That shouldn’t stop you from schmoozing, reading, learning, and doing your Gemini thing. Talk your heart out—Me redt zich oys dos harts—you might not get exactly what you had in mind, but when has that ever stopped you before?

CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 20): Ruled as you are by the moon, you are particularly susceptible to full and new moons. While the full moon may create tension for you, remember that every man has a madness of his own—Itlecher mentsh hot zich zein shigoyen. The best way to face the world is head on!

LEO (JULY 21-AUGUST 20): Any sense of limitation you’ve been feeling is reaching its breaking point. Before you succumb to the pressures of reality, take a few moments to breath and assess your state of affairs. You magnetic Leos go straight to the heart of the matter—be true to yourself and go after what you really want. 

VIRGO (AUGUST 21-SEPTEMBER 20): Discerning Virgos may not have a hard time seeing the forest for the trees, but with Mercury moving retrograde most of November, be careful you don’t bore your companions. A critical eye won’t necessary save you from the forces of chaos that descend upon us all from time to time. 

LIBRA (SEPTEMBER 21-OCTOBER 20): Venus, your ruling planet, moves into your sign on October 28, neshomeleh (sweetheart). Libra is the sign of partnership, and you’ll find yourself becoming more aware of that special someone. But don’t take this as an excuse to neglect your own personal development—if you got it, flaunt it!

What’s Your Sign?
Jewcy Horoscopes: Lovely, Lawful Libra (September 21-October 20)
Jewcy Horoscopes: Virgo, the Anxious Maiden (August 21-September 20)
Jewcy Horoscopes: Leo, King of the Jungle (July 21 – August 20)

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