He earned his doctorate at the Sorbonne in Paris, and went on to study literature and art in Berlin and then Munich.
After five years in this profession and a handful of moderately interesting productions (including two with his then-wife, actress Käthe von Nagy), he turned back to his studies in literature and art.
From 1929 onwards he focused on the establishment of the first Italian sound film studios in Turin and Rome, and soon after he did the same thing in Spain.
1936, at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, David left the country and went via Italy in 1937 to Turkey, where he designed a five-year plan for the state's film-making.
During the Second World War David spend most of his time in France, after which he traveled to the United States to continue his film career.