{
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  "@type": "Person",
  "@id": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/person/30177/david-abel",
  "name": "David Abel",
  "url": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/person/30177/david-abel",
  "knownForDepartment": "Camera",
  "description": "From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia\n\nDavid 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).\n\nOther 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.\n\nHe 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.",
  "birthDate": "1883-12-15",
  "deathDate": "1973-11-12",
  "birthPlace": "Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands",
  "sameAs": [
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  "lastVerified": "11 September 2026",
  "filmography": [
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      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 13485,
      "title": "Holiday Inn",
      "year": "1942",
      "role": "Director of Photography",
      "roleKind": "crew",
      "voteAverage": 7.064,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/7eZzwqLM1w1Mljg60rzB1zr27lu.jpg",
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    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 3080,
      "title": "Top Hat",
      "year": "1935",
      "role": "Director of Photography",
      "roleKind": "crew",
      "voteAverage": 7.257,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/qoPBiN6PBs2NsP7BNOJGCnmwruG.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/movie/3080/top-hat-1935"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 20325,
      "title": "Swing Time",
      "year": "1936",
      "role": "Director of Photography",
      "roleKind": "crew",
      "voteAverage": 6.846,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/3iukS0hzUAmhwHdqWrgQuKwMnJY.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/movie/20325/swing-time-1936"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 31530,
      "title": "Shall We Dance",
      "year": "1937",
      "role": "Director of Photography",
      "roleKind": "crew",
      "voteAverage": 7.3,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/6anwn2NxTw7NwVEEU4qhVwN3Exi.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/movie/31530/shall-we-dance-1937"
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    {
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      "tmdbId": 28288,
      "title": "The Gay Divorcee",
      "year": "1934",
      "role": "Director of Photography",
      "roleKind": "crew",
      "voteAverage": 6.9,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/xD6oUOAa0Q6PppaOnY6dy6sWPLG.jpg",
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    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 101892,
      "title": "Bachelor Bait",
      "year": "1934",
      "role": "Director of Photography",
      "roleKind": "crew",
      "voteAverage": 6.5,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/f0Q4yl1yePyM13uxtcpPFWNRaLs.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/movie/101892/bachelor-bait-1934"
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    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 28292,
      "title": "Follow the Fleet",
      "year": "1936",
      "role": "Director of Photography",
      "roleKind": "crew",
      "voteAverage": 6.882,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/8crR3tx6JapNwH4WcrxDkOaDkRE.jpg",
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    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 201186,
      "title": "Recompense",
      "year": "1925",
      "role": "Director of Photography",
      "roleKind": "crew",
      "voteAverage": 8,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/1Y6hmEdvFfATjB8BV3NIUhmVY22.jpg",
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    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 89982,
      "title": "Cockeyed Cavaliers",
      "year": "1934",
      "role": "Director of Photography",
      "roleKind": "crew",
      "voteAverage": 5.833,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/4F1mTUouQTtjfNEnoBqgKvwXhOu.jpg",
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    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 200658,
      "title": "Pick-up",
      "year": "1933",
      "role": "Director of Photography",
      "roleKind": "crew",
      "voteAverage": 5.143,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/vUmNYq8XG1y6fPzGizQd298NUlS.jpg",
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    },
    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 642458,
      "title": "Thais",
      "year": "1917",
      "role": "Director of Photography",
      "roleKind": "crew",
      "voteAverage": 4.5,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/zZTYKsSsA04PpJVWz9DIkpIWjAI.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/movie/642458/thais-1917"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 81107,
      "title": "Merrily We Go to Hell",
      "year": "1932",
      "role": "Director of Photography",
      "roleKind": "crew",
      "voteAverage": 6.469,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/kSwYDEtFhPXYuyIO3WxpzfusTIA.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/movie/81107/merrily-we-go-to-hell-1932"
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    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 240331,
      "title": "Criminal Lawyer",
      "year": "1937",
      "role": "Director of Photography",
      "roleKind": "crew",
      "voteAverage": 6.5,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/cxrgWN7jakOxohCzUOFBZviUDrt.jpg",
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    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 1249489,
      "title": "Geraldine",
      "year": "1929",
      "role": "Cinematography",
      "roleKind": "crew",
      "voteAverage": 8,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/uFfk2B3eGsfdhMLyy5JDX8n5e5v.jpg",
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    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 31903,
      "title": "History Is Made at Night",
      "year": "1937",
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      "voteAverage": 6.664,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/uINTStWWbJGQKQ58EsW1eAcha65.jpg",
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    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 548929,
      "title": "My Official Wife",
      "year": "1926",
      "role": "Director of Photography",
      "roleKind": "crew",
      "voteAverage": 8,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/2VvirkWm0dM8Rc0wiQQV6N3hLFu.jpg",
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    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 635288,
      "title": "Lovebound",
      "year": "1923",
      "role": "Director of Photography",
      "roleKind": "crew",
      "voteAverage": 9,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/aTugntFSuaRREJZO7ezzmbF8wBN.jpg",
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    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 27628,
      "title": "Follow the Boys",
      "year": "1944",
      "role": "Director of Photography",
      "roleKind": "crew",
      "voteAverage": 5.727,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/jFrQrxdDOYIVH8OQ6h5TgFg9JEN.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/movie/27628/follow-the-boys-1944"
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    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 120930,
      "title": "The Crime of the Century",
      "year": "1933",
      "role": "Director of Photography",
      "roleKind": "crew",
      "voteAverage": 6.7,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/54wU2Gt25VRubF0QIh8Gu1hIlzh.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/movie/120930/the-crime-of-the-century-1933"
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      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 1639312,
      "title": "Noisy Neighbors",
      "year": "1929",
      "role": "Director of Photography",
      "roleKind": "crew",
      "voteAverage": 9,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/cmdezgmnvyCXPhGRjVICQbuNxEE.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/movie/1639312/noisy-neighbors-1929"
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      "tmdbId": 52356,
      "title": "Madame Butterfly",
      "year": "1932",
      "role": "Director of Photography",
      "roleKind": "crew",
      "voteAverage": 5.357,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/sFDLF2btxB2iQGy8A0ZyWl8BMzx.jpg",
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    {
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      "tmdbId": 595092,
      "title": "A Lost Lady",
      "year": "1924",
      "role": "Director of Photography",
      "roleKind": "crew",
      "voteAverage": 10,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/9SJj7WGiJFpAiqqVnvc2pifPEDE.jpg",
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    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 283469,
      "title": "The Forbidden Woman",
      "year": "1927",
      "role": "Director of Photography",
      "roleKind": "crew",
      "voteAverage": 7,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/vaKjD2PDgIMmHIJNOGwKjP1PDv0.jpg",
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    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 1573083,
      "title": "The Barefoot Boy",
      "year": "1923",
      "role": "Cinematography",
      "roleKind": "crew",
      "voteAverage": 7,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/rrVvP8GD78mS60650aKTrQOfwn9.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/movie/1573083/the-barefoot-boy-1923"
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}