Be Bold

Inspiration. Love. Passion. These are the moments when you really live. Salka Viertel, actress and writer, did just that, living at the apex of cultural and artistic creativity throughout the first half of the twentieth century. With theatre, cabaret and film from pre-World War I Europe, to Berlin in the Weimar times, to Los Angeles in the 1930’s, she was at the vortex of one of the great creative storms of the 20th century. And she was not alone. As Europe was emptied of its artists and intellectuals, driven from their homelands by Nazi Germany, California was brimming with talent and intellect, eventually fueling and bringing imagination and innovation to the Golden Age of Hollywood. When Salka and her director husband Berthold Viertel migrated to California, their home in Santa Monica on the bluffs overlooking the Pacific became a magnet for transplanted artists, musicians and writers. The story of these two adventuresome artists, their work under the strains of displacement, and their fervent love is moving and unforgettable.