Hedy Lamarr: The Most Beautiful Woman in Film (Screen Classics)

No doubt about it, a favorite of men through the years, the envy of women. Hedy Lamarr's life is more thrilling, more fascinating and captivating and even "strange" than most of her films ever were. Ruth Barton narrates many facts of Miss Lamarr's life, already known. . . early years in Vienna, movie roles, marriages, shoplifting charges, an inventor. . . but also tells details of her private life after "retirement" in New York and Florida. . .For the many men who may have dreamed of dating Hedy. . .or even spending a night with her, this biography may convince them that Hedy is to be more admired and "wished for," from a distance. . .to see her on the screen is a delight, a dream and an escape from reality. . . to be close to her, maybe a heartbreak!A biography on Hedy Lamarr has been hoped for and anticipated by her still many fans for a long time. . .Ruth Barton has written a biography which makes Hedy come alive and entertain us once again.

Repetetive description of subject's same characteristic by author was tedious. For example, that she was a poor actress in the author's evaluation, was OK with me. But I am not retarded, and the author did not have to repeat it a number of times. On one page, author mentions it twice.Another major flaw was the continuous mention of numerous discrepancies in the description of Hedy's life. Instead of some research by the author, and then giving her opinion. She repeatedly does the "he said, she said" type of history. I do not mean that everything should be absolute in its writing, but no evidence of author thinking about writing many times totally contradictory facts as stated by various people.My interest was aroused by Hedy's frequency hopping development and when I was young, I was very taken with her looks.If you consider buying this book, save yourself time and money. You can get more interesting material searching for another book or surf the internet.

In its way this biography exposes an era of film making before & during the war years. You get a view of the great monguls of that time, and the actors who were minipulated and helpless in making their own decisions..even in their private lives. Europeans were leaving, by the droves, to escape the threat of Hitler...many in the film world, not only actors who ended up in Hollywood...and so Hedy Lamarr appears. When reading you get the feel of these foreigners, and their plight to adjust to America. Hedy's story is a pitiful one to me...for in that pretty head was a sharp mind. Her life is in paralell to the movie "Sunset Boulevard". I found it interesting because it opens up a world of theatre...It's not everyone's cup of tea. What I found lacking was the way the author handled it..not to say that the research is wrong. I have read many biographies in my time, and I feel the writing and approach could have been different.

I did not feel that the author revealed the motivations behind what made this brilliant actress and inventor tick. The author related predominately negative and somewhat sensational situations. It would seem that a woman, such as Ms. Lamarr, would be a fascinating subject with her integration of beauty and brains.I would have enjoyed the book more had the author been able to convey the inner feelings and motivations behind "The Most Beautiful Woman in Film". Hedy Lamarr was rare jewel that shined brightly. Too bad the author was not able to capture any of Ms. Lamarr's brilliance.

I was a bit disappointed in this book. There were not much in the way of interviews with those who worked with or knew Lamarr so you end up with a book that provides film synopses and examinations of Lamarr's relationships and mental health. The book also did not provide much in the way of followup as to what happened to Lamarr's six ex-husbands or what her children or grandchildren are doing. The book contained some errors including saying Thomas Ince disappeared overboard from the Hearst yacht. Everything I've read on this mystery indicates Ince fell ill and perhaps died on the yacht but was taken off when they returned and was cremated. The author makes it seem as if Ince just disappeared. And on Page 133 the author says Walter Pidgeon played the doctor in White Cargo when it was always underrated Frank Morgan. Overall, I just would not recommend this book for a balanced view on Lamarr.