Berthold Viertel (28 June 1885 – 24 September 1953) was an Austrian screenwriter and film director, known for his work in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, the UK and the US.

Early career

Viertel was born in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, the capital of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

, but later went to work in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. Viertel developed a reputation as a poet and theatre director, before moving into film work from 1922. As a screenwriter and director, he collaborated with some of the leading figures of the

silent era A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...

of German cinema and worked on several influential films. '' Uneasy Money'' (1926) is a work of

New Objectivity The New Objectivity (in ) was a movement in German art that arose during the 1920s as a reaction against German Expressionism, expressionism. The term was coined by Gustav Friedrich Hartlaub, the director of the ''Kunsthalle Mannheim, Kunsthalle' ...

film movement. He was married to screenwriter and actress Salka Viertel from 30 April 1918 to 20 December 1947.

Arrival in America

Following the collapse of Viertel's theatre

troupe Troupe may refer to: General *Comedy troupe, a group of comedians *Dance troupe, a group of dancers **Fire troupe, a group of fire dancers *Troupe system, a method of playing role-playing games *Theatrical troupe, a group of theatrical performers ...

, he faced severe financial difficulties and accepted an offer from the

Fox Film Corporation The Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios) was an American independent company that produced motion pictures and was formed in 1914 by the theater "chain" pioneer William Fox (producer), William Fox. It was the corporate successor to ...

. He came to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 1928 planning to stay for just three years. Viertel wanted to gain experience working for the booming

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

film industry and hoped to earn enough to return to Europe. For four years, he worked for Fox then

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

, and

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

. Viertel grew to intensely dislike the atmosphere in Hollywood, which he found paranoid and which he believed placed too many artistic restraints on him. Viertel wanted to produce socially relevant films and did not believe Hollywood had the capacity to do so. This came to a head when he was working on the Paramount film '' The Cheat'' (1928) and after clashing with studio bosses he was replaced by

George Abbott George Francis Abbott (June 25, 1887January 31, 1995) was an American theatre producer, director, playwright, screenwriter, film director and producer whose career spanned eight decades. He received numerous honors including six Tony Awards, the ...

Europe

With the uncertain political situation in Germany in 1932, the Viertels decided to stay in the United States with their children rather than return to an uncertain future in Europe. The Viertels' house in

Santa Monica Canyon The western border of Santa Monica, California, is the 3-mile (4.8 km) stretch of Santa Monica Bay. On its other sides, the city is bordered by various districts of Los Angeles: the northwestern border is Pacific Palisades, the eastern bord ...

was the site of

salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

s and meetings of the Hollywood "intelligentsia" and European intellectuals. It was also an important gathering place for the

émigré An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social exile or self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French verb ''émigrer'' meaning "to emigrate". French Huguenots Many French Hugueno ...

community.

Personal life

Previously, Berthold Viertel had been married to Grete Viertel, but they divorced in 1918. After his divorce from Salka in 1947, he married for a third time, this time to Elisabeth Neumann to whom he remained married until his death in 1953. His marriage to Salka Viertel produced three sons: Hans, Peter and Thomas.

Peter Viertel Peter Viertel (16 November 1920 – 4 November 2007) was an author and screenwriter. Biography Viertel was born to Jewish parents in Dresden, Germany, the writer and actress Salka Viertel and the writer Berthold Viertel. In 1928, his parents m ...

(1920–2007) was a book and screenplay writer.

Filmography

Screenwriter

* '' Nora'' (Germany, 1923) * '' The Wig'' (Germany, 1925) * ''

4 Devils ''4 Devils'' (also known as ''Four Devils'') is a lost 1928 American Synchronized sound drama film directed by German director F. W. Murnau and starring Janet Gaynor. While the 1928 version of the film had no audible dialog, it was released w ...

'' (1928) * '' City Girl'' (1930) * '' The Sacred Flame'' (1931) * '' Little Friend'' (UK, 1934) * ' (Austria, 1951)

Director

* '' Nora'' (Germany, 1923) * '' The Wig'' (Germany, 1925) * '' Uneasy Money'' (Germany, 1926) * '' The One Woman Idea'' (1929) * '' Seven Faces'' (1929) * '' Man Trouble'' (1930) * '' The Sacred Flame'' (1931) * '' The Spy'' (1931) * '' The Magnificent Lie'' (1931) * '' The Wiser Sex'' (1932) * '' The Man from Yesterday'' (1932) * '' Little Friend'' (UK, 1934) * '' The Passing of the Third Floor Back'' (UK, 1935) * '' Rhodes of Africa'' (UK, 1936)

References

Bibliography

* Bergfelder, Tim & Cargnelli, Christian (ed). ''Destination London: German-speaking Emigres and British Cinema, 1925-1950''. Berghahn Books, 2008. * Jansen, Irene. ''Berthold Viertel: Leben und künsterlerische Arbeit im Exil''. New York: Peter Lang, 1992. * Richards, Jeffrey (ed). ''The Unknown 1930s: An Alternative History of the British Cinema, 1929-1939''. I.B. Tauris, 1998. * Viertel, Salka. ''The Kindness of Strangers''. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1969. * Prager, Katharina. ''Berthold Viertel. Eine Biografie der Wiener Moderne''. Wien: Böhlau 2018, ISBN 978-3-205-20503-6
online

External links

* * *
Filmography, New York Times - Berthold Viertel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Viertel, Berthold 1885 births 1953 deaths Austrian film directors Film people from Vienna Emigrants from Austria-Hungary Immigrants to the German Empire Immigrants to the United States