Biography
Austrian filmmaker Berthold Viertel made his film directorial debut in Germany in the early '20s and later in the decade directed a few films in Hollywood before moving to England in 1933. A native of Vienna, he was educated at the University of Vienna and got his start writing poems, novels, plays, and essays. He then spent time as a theater director and actor. In 1929 and 1930, he co-penned the scripts for Murnau's two Hollywood efforts
Four Devils (1929) and
City Girl (1930). His wife, Polish-born actress Salka Steuermann Viertel, also collaborated on screenplays for Garbo films during the '30s and '40s. Their son, Peter Viertel, became a screenwriter and a novelist. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide