A Corner in Wheat

A Corner in Wheat[1] is a 1909 American short silent film which tells of a greedy tycoon who tries to corner the world market on wheat, destroying the lives of the people who can no longer afford to buy bread. It was directed by D. W. Griffith and adapted by Griffith and Frank E. Woods from a novel and a short story by Frank Norris, titled The Pit and A Deal in Wheat.

A Corner in Wheat
Directed byD. W. Griffith
Written byFrank Norris (book)
StarringFrank Powell
Grace Henderson
James Kirkwood
Linda Arvidson
W. C. Miller
Gladys Egan
H. B. Walthall
Blanche Sweet
Distributed byAmerican Mutoscope and Biograph Company
Release date
  • December 13, 1909 (1909-12-13)
Running time
approx. 15 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent

Intercutting (cross-cutting) between still tableaux of the poor in the bread line and the lavish, active parties of the wealthy speculator somewhat anticipates the collision montage which became a hallmark of the politically charged Soviet cinema a decade or so later.

In 1994, A Corner in Wheat was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". [2] [3]

The film was also released on 8mm in the 1960s.

Cast

Release

The film was released on December 13, 1909. Thanks in part to an upsurge in political populism, audience reacted to the film positively. Prior to A Corner in Wheat, Griffith avoided making political statements in his film. After the film's success, he began to make bolder statements about society and politics in his film until he was condemning entire races in films like The Birth of a Nation (1915).[4]

See also

References
  1. Woods, Frank E., Writing, G. W Bitzer, Frank E Powell, Grace Henderson, James Kirkwood, Linda Arvidson, W. Christy Miller, et al. A Corner in Wheat. United States: Biograph, 1909. Video. https://www.loc.gov/item/2012600307/
  2. "25 Films Added to National Registry". The New York Times. 1994-11-15. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
  3. "Complete National Film Registry Listing | Film Registry | National Film Preservation Board | Programs at the Library of Congress | Library of Congress". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
  4. Eagan, Daniel. (2010). America's film legacy : the authoritative guide to the landmark movies in the National Film Registry. National Film Preservation Board (U.S.). New York: Continuum. p. 20. ISBN 9781441116475. OCLC 676697377.


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