Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story Page #5

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as are the eyes

of every man and woman

in that dining room.

And Louis B. Mayer knew

he had to have her.

He snapped his fingers

and I didn't know why,

I didn't know what...

all of a sudden

I got $500 every week.

Hedy Kiesler,

Hedy Kiesler, Kiesler.

We gotta do something

about the name.

So, Louis B. Mayer's wife

was there and she said,

"Well, Barbara La Marr

is one of my favorites.

Why not Hedy Lamarr?"

Lamarr, the sea, perfect.

Let's be Hedy Lamarr.

She didn't speak

a word of English.

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.

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