Hedy Lamarr and Torpedo Control

The caption to the black and white photograph simply says "Hedy Lamarr speaking to a group of military men." There are three men, conveniently arranged so that we get a full view of the beautiful Hollywood star. She is wearing a soft white jumper and a long woollen coat. The top buttons of the coat are open; they gleam brightly, militaristically, putting to shame the more numerous brass buttons of the military men. The coat is dark and its opening reveals the "V" neck of Hedy's modestly cut jumper. But the buttons are the only thing that is faintly militaristic about Hedy. The rest is soft curves, a proud chin, a pert nose, arched brows and black hair whose very slightly tousled look belies the lie that film stars only look beautiful in their films, or in soldiers' dreams.

She is shaking the hand of the man to her right, who has his back to us, but she is staring at the second man to her left. Her look abounds with intelligence, the melting remains of the actresses' "meet the men" smile on her face. She is looking at him with quizzical interest. Why?

All three men are beaming, they are genuinely happy to be meeting, even chatting to, the woman that MGM officially labelled the "most beautiful girl in the world." The chat has been mundane - the trading of names, ranks, girlfriend's age and hair colour, state of origin and so on. So what is it that intrigued Hedy about the man nearest to the camera, the one with a belted jacket and shoulder badge with three stripes? He does not seem to differ particularly from his colleges. All of them are uniformed and sport military hairstyles, closely cropped with the requisite inch of bare skin above their ears.

"What does the "T" stand for on your badge," she had asked innocently, vaguely - probably trying to find something to say that was a little less personal, but without straying too far into the military.

"Torpedo ma'am. That's my area. The guys and me, we work on torpedoes."

The photo shoot is over. The cameraman begins to dismantle his camera and the three men disperse. Hedy's eyes follow the departing figure of the man with the badge. He is walking, no swaggering, towards a waiting jeep. Hedy's eyes narrow, the camera-friendly smile has now entirely disappeared. There is clearly some internal conflict going on. Suddenly her face brightens; she becomes animated, she has made her decision and runs gracefully after her quarry. He is clearly surprised as she taps him on the shoulder. He whirls to face her; his expression is at first questioning but swiftly turns to surprise as she speaks to him. They come to an agreement and, while he walks proudly towards the jeep and his envious companions, she rejoins the camera crew and MGM's publicity department.

Some hours later she enters a bar. Heads turn as she sweeps by; she is now wearing a yellow ankle-length dress and black satin shawl. The military man is sitting at the bar. He has been there for some time and has already taken more bourbon than he should; he looks blearily, doubtfully at Hedy who is over an hour late. She takes his hand and leads him to a free table at the rear of the bar, a waiter follows discreetly. She orders an orange juice and he yet another bourbon.

"I thought that you wouldn't come, " he says quietly, almost sadly.

She smiles sweetly at him and says softly, "I'm here."

"You have a beautiful accent," he slurs, looking longingly at her eyes, her lips, her chin, her hair.

"Thank you, I think maybe I am still too Austrian," she responds still smiling.

They are silent for a moment as the waiter places their drinks in front of them. As he leaves Hedy's smile fades and she says, "Now, tell me all about torpedoes and how they can be used in this war."

The military man's contented smile slips from his face; he blinks rapidly, starts to speak, then stops himself. He looks around the bar, as if looking for help. He drinks his bourbon in one draught.

"You know that I cannot tell you that Miss Lamarr," he says at last. "The United States is about to join the war, We are told to speak to no one except the guys we work with."

"But it is important, I can help. In Austria I was married to Fritz Mandl - the arms dealer. I know much and I must help to stop this monster, this Hitler."

Two bourbons later the military man's will is broken. The strong liquor, the excitement of a night with his favourite star, her beauty, the envious looks of almost every man in the bar, everything compounds. Over dinner he spills the beans. Hedy pays for the meal and kisses him lightly on the cheek as he is bundled into a cab, intoxicated, confused and in love. He never sees her again, except on the silver screen.

Two years later Hedy Lamarr was granted a patent by the US Patent and Trademark Office in Washington. The invention is entitled the "Secret Communication System" and describes a secure means of steering a torpedo to its target, even if the target takes evasive action. Hedy and her co-inventor, composer George Antheil, generously donated the patent to the US Navy. However, their offer was graciously declined - after all how could an actress and a piano player possibly tell the navy how to guide its torpedoes? Hedy was told that she could better help the war effort by entertaining "our boys" and selling war bonds.

Here the story ends, except that you should know the truth. The photograph of Hedy and the military men is quite genuine, so is the patent and her marriage to Mandl. It is now accepted that Hedy Lamarr invented a technology that now lies at the heart of the modern mobile phone and computer systems. What we may never know for sure is where she came upon the initial idea for her invention.

Click here to see details of Rob Walters' book: Spread Spectrum: Hedy Lamarr and the mobile phone

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