what was the effect of the stock market crash on businessmen ?Movie stars?

Answer 1

The stock market crash in 1929 impacted the middle class most harshly, odd as that may seem.

The reason for this is because the rich were insulated (and you can include most of the well-known movie stars in that category) by their money--if you had plenty of it you could ride out the storm, and the poor were already used to the coping strategies that a lifetime of poverty had taught them. Keep in mind that, until Franklin Roosevelt was elected in 1932, there was no sort of governmental "safety net," and the poor were dependent on churches and private charities. Admirable though the efforts were, they just were not enough to help everyone who needed it.

The middle class, then, felt the brunt of the crisis. Unlike the rich, they didn't have a nice stash of cash (and other assets in the form of art, antiques, real estate and such)--especially when the banks failed--and, having usually had a more comfortable existence than the poor, had fewer skills for coping with the economic change.

The men often lost their jobs because the companies they worked for had lost a lot in the stock market, or at least had to take either pay cuts or reduced hours. Some women were forced to look for work outside the home, and many of them had few skills other than homemaking--remember, back in the days 70 or 80 years ago, women were expected to marry and have children and often didn't learn much more than cooking, sewing, and other skills that would prepare them to manage their homes. In fact, many women of the middle class at that time did not receive any post-secondary education, and women of the working class often didn't even finish high school.

There you have it in a nutshell.