The Only Woman in the Room

On December 7th, 1941, Hedy is filming Tortilla Flat. She arrives on set to find everyone huddled around a television set. Pearl Harbor has been bombed by Japanese planes. Hedy is stunned—she was so focused on the threats coming from Europe that she didn’t realize an attack from Asia could be coming. Hours later, America will declare war. As her crewmembers watch the news, Hedy retreats to cry privately. Having heard their enemies’ plans directly from them, Hedy weeps to know what the Americans will be facing. 

Seven weeks later, America is fully immersed in the war against Europe and Japan. The Nazis move towards annihilating all European Jews by moving them into ghettos and concentration camps. Hedy is becoming anxious—they still haven’t heard back from the Navy about their torpedo system. George arrives with news from the Navy: They’ve rejected their proposal. Even though “over 60 percent of the torpedoes they’ve launched haven’t hit their targets” (231), the Navy would rather invest in perfecting the old system than trying a new one. On paper, the Navy denies it on the basis that their system is too heavy, despite it fitting inside a watch. Hedy refuses to accept their denial.