Biography
Daniel Mandell quit school at an early age to join the Ringling Bros. circus as a performer. He later toured in vaudeville in a knockabout act with his brother. In 1924, Mandell settled in Hollywood, where he forsook acting in favor of the cutting room. A top film editor by the mid-1930s, Mandell launched his long association with producer Sam Goldwyn with the 1936 film
These Three. He went on to win Oscars for his work on Goldwyn's
Pride of the Yankees (1942) (it was Mandell's idea to "flip" certain shots to give the illusion that right-handed
Gary Cooper was a southpaw) and
Billy Wilder's
The Apartment (1960). After an absence of 14 years, Daniel Mandell returned to films for his final editing assignment on 1980's
One Trick Pony. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide