If you've never heard of Hedy Lamarr, you're in for a treat. Louis B. Mayer promoted her as the "most beautiful woman in the world", and the film Ecstasy (1933), made in Europe before Lamarr had even come to Hollywood, is ample proof of his claim.
The film, shot in Czechoslovakia, Germany and Austria by director Gustav Machatý, was rated 'C' for 'condemned' by the (then brand new) Catholic League of Decency in 1933, before the film had even been seen in America due to its depiction of a nude Hedy chasing down a horse to retrieve her clothes, and for a later lovemaking scene notable for being the first non-pornographic depiction of orgasm in film. German censorship officials insisted that all of the nudity be removed from the film, which delayed its release there until 1936. That same year, American distributor Albert Deane acquired the American rights to the film, and began petitioning the Hays Office for release of the German (cut) version, but the board was hostile: Joseph Breen, head of the Production Board, called the picture "highly—even dangerously—indecent" in an inter-office memo to Will H. Hays, and wrote the producers: "I regret to have to advise you that we cannot approve your production Ecstasy that you submitted for our examination yesterday for the reason that is our considered unanimous judgment that the picture is definitely and specifically in violation of the Production Code. This violation is suggested by the basic story... in that it is a [story] of illicit love and frustrated sex, treated in detail without sufficient compensating moral values." Even the Pope took time to condemn the film. Still, the film was critically acclaimed and won an award in Rome for outstanding direction.
Meanwhile, the film's young star, then known as Hedy Kiesler, daughter of a Jewish banker from Vienna, met and married a fabulously wealthy arms dealer, who turned out to be her worst nightmare: a fascist who entertained guests like Hitler and Mussolini, and who kept her a virtual prisoner in his castle. She escaped five years later dressed as a maid, and carrying a bag of jewels, went to Paris, met Louis B. Mayer, successfully negotiated a lucrative contract for herself, then went to Hollywood and became a famous movie star named Hedy Lamarr (the name change being Mayer's idea). (If that story seems incredible to you, consider that she later invented a variable-signal technology that spawned the cellphone industry!)
Lamarr's sudden rise to stardom led Deane to decide to release the movie without the production board's seal of approval, which limited his distribution options. US release finally came on Dec. 24, 1940, mostly confined to independent theaters in major cities. Some state censor boards such as New York approved the film but most others either only allowed it with restrictions, demanded substantial cuts, or in the case of Pennsylvania, banned it altogether.
It would be many years later before US audiences would be able to see the full, uncut movie. Though tame by today's standards, the film is worth seeing for other reasons. The film's director, Gustav Machatý, was a friend and admirer of Eric von Stroheim, and had worked with both he and D.W. Griffith in the US. This background is evident in the way Machatý builds the plot in a visual manner - there is virtually no dialogue in this film, though it isn't a 'silent' film - and in the film's moody eroticism. The very young Hedy seen here is a superb beauty, and her innate ability to convey passion onscreen, though it would haunt her (and several husbands) for the rest of her life, is a wonder to behold, leaving us unsurprised that she would eventually join the pantheon of Hollywood's elite.
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