David Abel

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia David Abel (15 December 1883 – 12 November 1973) was a cinematographer. Born in Amsterdam to Russian parents, Abel began his career in 1916. He came to the United States as a child in the first decade of the 1900s and worked as a portrait photographer in New York before entering films with Flying A Studios in 1913. His credits include Grumpy (1930), The Virtuous Sin (1930), Huckleberry Finn (1931), The Gay Divorcee (1934), Top Hat (1935), Follow the Fleet (1936), and The Affairs of Susan (1945). At RKO Pictures during the 1930s, Abel was a favorite collaborator of director Mark Sandrich and was responsible for the photography of five Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers musicals (The Gay Divorcee, Top Hat, Follow the Fleet, Swing Time, and Shall We Dance). Other credits include The Awful Truth, Huckleberry Finn, Hips, Hips, Hooray!, Grumpy, The Virtuous Sin, and History Is Made at Night. He filmed a total of 110 films. He retired in 1937, but Sandrich persuaded him to come back as cameraman for the classic Holiday Inn (1942). After two more films, Follow the Boys (1944) and The Affairs of Susan (1945), Abel left Hollywood film work for good.

Most Famous Work

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The Gay Divorcee

(1934) Director of Photography

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7

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Swing Time

(1936) Director of Photography

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7

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Top Hat

(1935) Director of Photography

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7

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Holiday Inn

(1942) Director of Photography

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7

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Shall We Dance

(1937) Director of Photography

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7

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Follow the Fleet

(1936) Director of Photography

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7

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History Is Made at Night

(1937) Director of Photography

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6

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Merrily We Go to Hell

(1932) Director of Photography

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Acting

Camera

Year	Role	Movie/Tv
1945	Director of Photography	The Affairs of Susan 1945-07-08 Movie
1944	Director of Photography	Follow the Boys 1944-05-05 Movie
1942	Director of Photography	Holiday Inn 1942-07-10 Movie
1937	Director of Photography	Shall We Dance 1937-05-07 Movie
	Director of Photography	History Is Made at Night 1937-03-05 Movie
	Director of Photography	Criminal Lawyer 1937-01-29 Movie
1936	Director of Photography	Make Way for a Lady 1936-11-13 Movie
	Director of Photography	Swing Time 1936-08-27 Movie
	Director of Photography	Bunker Bean 1936-06-26 Movie
	Director of Photography	Follow the Fleet 1936-02-20 Movie
1935	Director of Photography	I Dream Too Much 1935-11-29 Movie
	Director of Photography	Top Hat 1935-08-29 Movie
	Director of Photography	The Case of the Curious Bride 1935-04-13 Movie
1934	Director of Photography	The Gay Divorcee 1934-10-12 Movie
	Director of Photography	Bachelor Bait 1934-07-27 Movie
	Director of Photography	Cockeyed Cavaliers 1934-06-29 Movie
	Director of Photography	This Man Is Mine 1934-04-13 Movie
	Director of Photography	Hips, Hips, Hooray! 1934-02-02 Movie
1933	Director of Photography	Ann Vickers 1933-09-26 Movie
	Director of Photography	Rafter Romance 1933-09-01 Movie
	Director of Photography	Pick Up 1933-03-24 Movie
	Director of Photography	The Crime of the Century 1933-02-18 Movie
1932	Director of Photography	Madame Butterfly 1932-12-30 Movie
	Director of Photography	The Phantom President 1932-09-23 Movie
	Director of Photography	Merrily We Go to Hell 1932-06-10 Movie
	Director of Photography	Sky Bride 1932-04-19 Movie
	Director of Photography	The Miracle Man 1932-04-01 Movie
1931	Director of Photography	Ladies of the Big House 1931-12-26 Movie
	Director of Photography	Rich Man's Folly 1931-11-14 Movie
	Director of Photography	Huckleberry Finn 1931-08-07 Movie
	Director of Photography	The Secret Call 1931-07-24 Movie
	Director of Photography	Scandal Sheet 1931-01-31 Movie
1930	Director of Photography	The Virtuous Sin 1930-10-31 Movie
	Director of Photography	Grumpy 1930-08-01 Movie
	Director of Photography	Swing High 1930-05-18 Movie
	Director of Photography	The Grand Parade 1930-02-02 Movie
1929	Director of Photography	The Racketeer 1929-11-09 Movie
	Director of Photography	Square Shoulders 1929-03-10 Movie
1928	Director of Photography	Show Folks 1928-10-20 Movie
	Director of Photography	Craig's Wife 1928-09-16 Movie
	Director of Photography	Tenth Avenue 1928-08-06 Movie
	Director of Photography	Midnight Madness 1928-03-25 Movie
	Director of Photography	Stand and Deliver 1928-02-18 Movie
1927	Director of Photography	The Forbidden Woman 1927-10-28 Movie
	Director of Photography	The First Auto 1927-09-18 Movie
1926	Director of Photography	The Honeymoon Express 1926-09-02 Movie
	Director of Photography	Footloose Widows 1926-06-19 Movie
	Director of Photography	The Cave Man 1926-02-06 Movie
1925	Director of Photography	Seven Sinners 1925-11-07 Movie
	Director of Photography	Recompense 1925-04-26 Movie
1924	Director of Photography	The Dark Swan 1924-11-26 Movie
	Director of Photography	Beau Brummel 1924-03-30 Movie
1923	Director of Photography	Lovebound 1923-04-15 Movie
1922	Director of Photography	Mixed Faces 1922-10-21 Movie
	Director of Photography	The Primitive Lover 1922-04-30 Movie
	Director of Photography	Little Miss Smiles 1922-01-15 Movie
1920	Director of Photography	The Woman Gives 1920-03-29 Movie
	Director of Photography	A Daughter of Two Worlds 1920-01-05 Movie
	Director of Photography	She Loves and Lies 1920-01-01 Movie
1919	Director of Photography	The Isle of Conquest 1919-10-26 Movie
	Director of Photography	The Way of a Woman 1919-07-27 Movie
	Director of Photography	The Probation Wife 1919-05-24 Movie
	Director of Photography	The New Moon 1919-05-11 Movie
	Director of Photography	The Heart of Wetona 1919-01-05 Movie
1917	Director of Photography	Thais 1917-12-30 Movie
	Director of Photography	Madame Bo-Peep 1917-05-26 Movie
	Director of Photography	A Woman's Awakening 1917-03-24 Movie
	Director of Photography	The Bad Boy 1917-02-18 Movie
Year	Role	Movie/Tv

Crew

Year	Role	Movie/Tv
1936	Cinematography	Bunker Bean 1936-06-26 Movie
1921	Cinematography	Rip Van Winkle 1921-10-02 Movie
1920	Cinematography	Unseen Forces 1920-11-29 Movie
1916	Cinematography	A Sister of Six 1916-10-29 Movie
Year	Role	Movie/Tv