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Clara Bow and Lawrence Gray in a promotional photo, circa 1925.  Marie Wilson in a promotional photo, circa 1948.      Charles Boyer and Hedy Lamarr at a New Year's Eve party in Hollywood in 1939.   Debbie Reynolds in a promotional portrait (1952).    Bette Davis in a promotional photo, circa 1935.    James Cagney and his wife, Billie, at a New Year's Eve party in New York City, in 1939.   Cyd Charisse in a promotional photo (1949).      Mae West in a promotional photo for Paramount Pictures (1936).

When the United States entered World War II, so did Hollywood. Studios began churning out films that emphasized patriotism and a large contingent of male stars sacrificed their careers to join the armed forces. Women at the time were obviously excluded from combat duty, so they used their celebrity status to raise funds or even to work in the underground. Here are five female stars that contributed to war effort.     Myrna Loy (1905-1993) With the outbreak of World War II in Europe, Myrna Loy was one of the many Hollywood celebrities that lent her presence and name to raising money for overseas relief. After the attack on Pearl Harbor forced the U.S. into the war, she joined the Screen Actors Division of the Hollywood Victory Campaign and coordinated talent for hospital tours, bond rallies and camp shows. In April 1943, she took an unpaid full-time job with the American Red Cross as assistant to the director of the Military and Naval Welfare Service for the North Atlantic Are...

For t his week 's "Film Friday," I have decided to celebrate both June Allyson's 98th birthday (which was on Wednesday) and Robert Walker's 97th birthday (which is next Tuesday) and tell you a little bit about the first of two films they made together. This is also happens to be one of my personal f avorites of theirs films. Original release poster Directed by Richard Thorpe, Her Highness and the Bellboy (1945) follows the beautiful Princess Veronica (Hedy Lamarr) in her visit to New York City to rekindle an old romance with newspaper columnist Paul MacMillan (Warner Anderson). After checking into the elegant Eaton Hotel, Veronica wanders into the employee offices and is mistaken for a new maid by a kind-hearted bellboy named Jimmy Dobson (Robert Walker). Charmed by his confusion, Veronica accepts his invitation for an afternoon stroll through Central Park and later asks him to be her personal assistant during her stay in America. Over the next day...

Did you know that besides being an actress and one of the most beautiful women in the world, Hedy Lamarr was also an expert mathematician and inventor? Hedy Lamarr was born in 1914 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, to a wealthy Jewish family. It was her mother, Gertrud, a pianist, who introduced her to the wonders of the stage. Hedy recalled, «One day, mother promised me a nice present if I were good. The present was a visit, my first, to the theatre. I saw a stage play for the first time. I was thrilled and speechless. I don't remember the play, its title of anything about it. But I never forgot the general impression. School held but one interest from then on. I took part in school plays and festivals. My first big part came in Hansel and Gretel .» The first film she saw that had the same effect on her was Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927), released when she was thirteen. Although it received mixed critical reviews upon release, Metropolis is now considered one of the greatest and ...