THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS

by Salka Viertel ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 17, 1969

The mother of novelist Peter, ex-wife of the late director Berthold, a tragedienne trained in pre- and post-World War I Germany, Mrs. Viertel came to Hollywood at the end of its silent era. The film colony attracted an international roster of actors, directors, and musicians--Schoenberg, Brecht, Garbo, et al.--and the cosmopolitan Viertels were the hospitable center for an avant garde the Hollywood establishment was ill-prepared to appreciate. Considered a ""Garbo specialist"" because she promoted the idea of Garbo as Queen Christina, Mrs. Viertel became a studio staff writer. Her multilingual salon, continued after her cordial separation from her husband, attracted the unfounded suspicions of the Red Hunters during and after World War II, a time when she was more concerned with trying to re-collect her scattered, Jewish family. From early childhood in the Polish Ukrainian sector of Austria-Hungary through her experiences in the German theater and Hollywood, Mrs. Viertel shares a full life, candidly and rewardingly.

Pub Date: April 17, 1969

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Holt, Rinehart & Winston

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1969

Categories: NONFICTION