Born in Berlad, Romania, Kandel came to the United States as a child and was educated at New York University and its law school.
He served in the U.S. Army during World War I and later enlisted in the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey.
[1] He began writing novels in 1927 and wrote two hit plays Hot Money (1931) that was filmed as High Pressure (1932) and Hot Money (1936), and translated a German play Die Wunderbar by Geza Herczeg and Karl Farkas together with Irving Caesar where the pair added their own songs calling at The Wonder Bar that was acquired by Al Jolson and filmed in 1934.
His novel City for Conquest (1936), based on some of his experiences as a boxer was made into a James Cagney feature in 1940.
In 1957 he began writing several lurid screenplays for producer Herman Cohen, for whom he had written Kid Monk Baroni.