In August 1933 he married 19-year old beautiful Austrian actress Hedwig "Hedy" Kiesler, who created controversy after her appearance in the infamous film "Ecstasy" (1933), in which she appeared nude and simulated sexual intercourse and orgasm. Mandl was the son of a Jewish father and a Catholic mother and demanded on the occasion of their wedding in the Vienna Karlskirche that she convert to Catholicism, which she did. (Both of Kiesler‘s parents were born Jewish, though her mother would later convert to Catholicism). Mandl is rumoured to have attempted to bring a halt to her acting career in Germany. He reportedly spent $280,000 ($ in dollars) in an unsuccessful attempt to suppress the film by purchasing every existing print. In her autobiography "Ecstasy and Me", Lamarr described Mandl as extremely controlling, and wrote that she escaped from him by disguising herself as a maid and fleeing to Paris, where she obtained a divorce. Kiesler would later become known as Hedy Lamarr and became a major star in Hollywood.