Superconductivity is destroyed by laser light in Pb films of thickness comparable to the optical penetration depth $\ensuremath{\delta}$ and less than the superconducting coherence length $\ensuremath{\xi}$. Thermal effects, which have been independently determined, cannot account for this. For films of thickness greater than $\ensuremath{\delta}$ and $\ensuremath{\xi}$, only the thermal effect is observed. In a proposed explanation it is shown that the electron gas may be heated from 3 to 18 \ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K above the lattice temperature by the light absorption in these experiments.