The Heavenly Body (1944)

I watched this movie called “The Heavenly Body” starring Hedy Lamarr on Turner Classic Movies. I am not sure why the movie is called “The Heavenly Body” …..unless they are referring to how astronomically hot Hedy is. What is the name Hedy short for? Hedwig?

Anyway, the plot goes like this: an astronomer who works long hours at an observatory suddenly finds out one day that his wife, played by Hedy Lamar, has taken a strong interest in astrology. Naturally, he is horrified, he does not know what to do, so he tries to no avail to convince her that astrology is rubbish. Despite his efforts, she continues visiting an astrologer every week for her personal horoscope, determined to adjust her life according to the house of her sign. One can imagine the comedic conflict that ensues when her horoscope predicts that she will meet the handsome man of her dreams, her true love, the man whom would devote his time and attention to her instead of spending hours doing research in an observatory. And, then, out of the blue, such a man appears!

I thought the movie, though a tad bit predictable, was really funny, clever, and well done. Two thumbs up from the Astronomybuff.

The TCM website says this:

The Heavenly Body was particularly timely, with a plot revolving around a popular craze, astrology. Although astrology had been practiced since the days of ancient Egypt, it had enjoyed a particular revival of popular interest since the ’30s, when the London Sunday Express carried a natal chart of the newly born Princess Margaret. The American Federation of Astrologers had been founded, as the American Federation of Scientific Astrologers, in 1938 to encourage serious study of the stars as keys to human psychology and behavior.

Next on my queue to watch is Sweeney Todd and Halloween (the new Rob Zombie version).

Photocredit: stratosphaerenlieder