Biography
David Abel (15 December 1883 – 12 November 1973) was a cinematographer. Born in Amsterdam to Russian parents, he moved to the United States as a child and worked as a portrait photographer in New York before entering the film industry around 1913.
At RKO Pictures in the 1930s he collaborated frequently with director Mark Sandrich. Abel shot five Fred Astaire–Ginger Rogers musicals: The Gay Divorcee (1934), Top Hat (1935), Follow the Fleet (1936), Swing Time (1936) and Shall We Dance (1937). Other credits include Merrily We Go to Hell (1932), History Is Made at Night (1937) and Holiday Inn (1942). He retired from feature work after The Affairs of Susan (1945) and had amassed more than 110 film credits.
