REVIEWS+

Beautiful

The Life of Hedy Lamarr
by Stephen Michael Shearer
Beautiful: The Life of Hedy Lamarr. Thomas Dunne Bks: St. Martin's. Oct. 2010. c.432p. photogs. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-0-312-55098-1. $29.99. FILM
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Hedy Lamarr was known in her heyday—Hollywood of the 1930s and 1940s—as "the most beautiful girl in the world." Lamarr was incredibly lovely, but she was also highly intelligent and complex. She first gained worldwide attention for her nude scenes in the Czech film Extase in 1933; Hollywood soon beckoned, and she quickly became a glamorous film icon, referred to as the "Dream Girl of 50,000,000 Men." But behind the stardom and multiple marriages was a reclusive woman with a fertile mind who was a successful inventor and financier. In his biography of Lamarr, Shearer (Patricia Neal: An Unquiet Life) pulls back the veil to reveal a woman who was at her most fascinating away from the movie screen.
VERDICT Deeply researched and written with humor, grace, and a great respect for his subject, Shearer's biography will be of interest not only to film buffs but also to students of women's history in science. Highly recommended.
Reviewed by Teri Shiel, Westfield State Coll. Lib., MA , Jul 01, 2010
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