---
name: "David Abel"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/david-abel"
roles: ["Cinematographer"]
born: "15 December 1883"
died: "12 November 1973"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 83
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-09-19T22:59:18.578288+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# David Abel

Cinematographer. Born 15 December 1883 in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands. Died 12 November 1973.

## Details

- **Work:** Cinematographer
- **Born:** 15 December 1883, Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
- **Died:** 12 November 1973
- **Active:** 1934–1935
- **Frequently works with:** [Edward Everett Horton](https://film.one/person/edward-everett-horton.md), [Erik Rhodes](https://film.one/person/erik-rhodes.md), [Fred Astaire](https://film.one/person/fred-astaire.md), [Ginger Rogers](https://film.one/person/ginger-rogers.md), [Mark Sandrich](https://film.one/person/mark-sandrich.md), [Pandro S. Berman](https://film.one/person/pandro-s-berman.md)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Abel_(cinematographer), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3017350, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0008441/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/30177

## 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.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *Top Hat* (1935), Fi1m 87, Director of Photography, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/film/top-hat.md)
- *The Gay Divorcee* (1934), Fi1m 79, Director of Photography, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/film/the-gay-divorcee.md)

## Complete filmography (87)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The Affairs of Susan* (1945), Director of Photography
- *Follow the Boys* (1944), Director of Photography
- *Holiday Inn* (1942), Director of Photography
- *Shall We Dance* (1937), Director of Photography
- *History Is Made at Night* (1937), Director of Photography
- *Criminal Lawyer* (1937), Director of Photography
- *Make Way for a Lady* (1936), Director of Photography
- *Swing Time* (1936), Director of Photography
- *Bunker Bean* (1936), Director of Photography, Cinematography
- *Follow the Fleet* (1936), Director of Photography
- *I Dream Too Much* (1935), Director of Photography
- *Top Hat* (1935), Director of Photography — Fi1m 87, [page](https://film.one/film/top-hat.md)
- *The Case of the Curious Bride* (1935), Director of Photography
- *A Notorious Gentleman* (1935), Cinematography
- *The Gay Divorcee* (1934), Director of Photography — Fi1m 79, [page](https://film.one/film/the-gay-divorcee.md)
- *Bachelor Bait* (1934), Director of Photography
- *Cockeyed Cavaliers* (1934), Director of Photography
- *Where Sinners Meet* (1934), Director of Photography
- *This Man Is Mine* (1934), Director of Photography
- *Hips, Hips, Hooray!* (1934), Director of Photography
- *Ann Vickers* (1933), Director of Photography
- *Rafter Romance* (1933), Director of Photography
- *Pick-up* (1933), Director of Photography
- *The Crime of the Century* (1933), Director of Photography
- *Madame Butterfly* (1932), Director of Photography
- *The Phantom President* (1932), Director of Photography
- *Merrily We Go to Hell* (1932), Director of Photography
- *Sky Bride* (1932), Director of Photography
- *The Miracle Man* (1932), Director of Photography
- *Ladies of the Big House* (1931), Director of Photography
- *Rich Man's Folly* (1931), Director of Photography
- *Huckleberry Finn* (1931), Director of Photography
- *The Secret Call* (1931), Director of Photography
- *Scandal Sheet* (1931), Director of Photography
- *The Virtuous Sin* (1930), Director of Photography
- *Grumpy* (1930), Director of Photography
- *Swing High* (1930), Director of Photography
- *The Grand Parade* (1930), Director of Photography
- *The Racketeer* (1929), Director of Photography
- *Square Shoulders* (1929), Director of Photography
- *Noisy Neighbors* (1929), Director of Photography
- *Geraldine* (1929), Cinematography
- *Show Folks* (1928), Director of Photography
- *Craig's Wife* (1928), Director of Photography
- *Tenth Avenue* (1928), Director of Photography
- *Midnight Madness* (1928), Director of Photography
- *Stand and Deliver* (1928), Director of Photography
- *The Forbidden Woman* (1927), Director of Photography
- *The First Auto* (1927), Director of Photography
- *What Every Girl Should Know* (1927), Cinematography
- *My Official Wife* (1926), Director of Photography
- *The Honeymoon Express* (1926), Director of Photography
- *Footloose Widows* (1926), Director of Photography
- *The Cave Man* (1926), Director of Photography
- *Seven Sinners* (1925), Director of Photography
- *How Baxter Butted In* (1925), Director of Photography
- *Recompense* (1925), Director of Photography
- *A Lost Lady* (1924), Director of Photography
- *The Dark Swan* (1924), Director of Photography
- *The Lover of Camille* (1924), Director of Photography
- *Beau Brummel* (1924), Director of Photography
- *The Barefoot Boy* (1923), Cinematography
- *Lovebound* (1923), Director of Photography
- *The Great Night* (1922), Director of Photography
- *Mixed Faces* (1922), Director of Photography
- *A Self-Made Man* (1922), Cinematography
- *The Men of Zanzibar* (1922), Director of Photography
- *The Primitive Lover* (1922), Director of Photography
- *Little Miss Smiles* (1922), Director of Photography
- *Rip Van Winkle* (1921), Cinematography
- *Unseen Forces* (1920), Cinematography
- *The Woman Gives* (1920), Director of Photography
- *A Daughter of Two Worlds* (1920), Director of Photography
- *She Loves and Lies* (1920), Director of Photography
- *The Isle of Conquest* (1919), Director of Photography
- *The Way of a Woman* (1919), Director of Photography
- *The Probation Wife* (1919), Director of Photography
- *The New Moon* (1919), Director of Photography
- *Maggie Pepper* (1919), Director of Photography
- *The Heart of Wetona* (1919), Director of Photography
- *Our Little Wife* (1918), Director of Photography
- *Thais* (1917), Director of Photography
- *Madame Bo-Peep* (1917), Director of Photography
- *A Woman's Awakening* (1917), Director of Photography
- *The Bad Boy* (1917), Director of Photography
- *The Heiress at Coffee Dan's* (1916), Cinematography
- *A Sister of Six* (1916), Cinematography

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© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/david-abel