George Gallup in Hollywood

September 1, 2006
The concept of gearing films toward targeted audiences is not new. As early as the 1930s, Hollywood studio moguls enlisted the aid of George Gallup, of Gallup Poll fame, to help in that effort. Ohmer (modern communication, Univ. of Notre Dame) has produced a well-detailed account of this obscure chapter in cinema history. As she tells it, Gallup began to believe that moviemakers were out of touch with the public and offered them his services. His major influence came with a series of pilot studies conducted during the extended publicity surrounding the production of "Gone with the Wind". Further polling for studio heads like Sam Goldwyn, Darryl Zanuck, and Walt Disney covered such issues as the desirability of double features, the viability of films being considered for production, and opinions about current movie stars. One result of this data gathering was Gallup -s realization of the importance of teenage moviegoers. This useful addition to the recent spate of literature about Hollywood -s endless quest of the bottom line is recommended for larger cinema collections." - Roy Liebman, Los Angeles P.L."

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