George Gallup in Hollywood / Susan Ohmer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ohmer, Susan.

Series:

Film and culture.

Film and culture

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Gallup, George, 1901-1984.

Gallup, George.

Motion picture audiences--United States--Research--History--20th century.

Motion picture audiences.

Public opinion polls--History.

Public opinion polls.

Motion pictures--Marketing.

Motion pictures.

Marketing research.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiii, 284 pages) : illustrations

Place of Publication:

New York : Columbia University Press, c2006.

New York, N.Y. : Columbia University Press, 2006.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

George Gallup in Hollywood is a fascinating look at the film industry's use of opinion polling in the 1930's and '40's. George Gallup's polling techniques first achieved fame when he accurately predicted that Franklin D. Roosevelt would be reelected president in 1936. Gallup had devised an extremely effective sampling method that took households from all income brackets into account, and Hollywood studio executives quickly pounced on the value of Gallup's research. Soon he was gauging reactions to stars and scripts for RKO Pictures, David O. Selznick, and Walt Disney and taking the public's temperature on Orson Welles and Desi Arnaz, couples such as Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, and films like Gone with the Wind, Dumbo, and Fantasia. Through interviews and extensive research, Susan Ohmer traces Gallup's groundbreaking intellectual and methodological developments, examining his comprehensive approach to market research from his early education in the advertising industry to his later work in Hollywood. The results of his opinion polls offer a fascinating glimpse at the class and gender differences of the time as well as popular sentiment toward social and political issues.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgments

1. What Do Audiences Want?

2. Guesswork Eliminated

3. The Laws That Determine Interest

4. America Speaks

5. Piggybacking on the Past

6. Singles and Doubles

7. Boy Meets Facts at RKO

8. David O. Selznick Presents

9. Gallup Meets Goofy

10. Like, Dislike, Like Very Much

Abbreviations Used and Collections Consulted

Notes

Index

Film and Culture

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [233]-276) and index.

ISBN:

9780231511285

0231511280

OCLC:

643556490