A Corner in Wheat

1909 American film

December 13, 1909 (1909-12-13)

Running time

approx. 15 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageSilent film

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 in 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.

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

Play film; runtime 00:13:48.

Frank Powell as The wheat king
James Kirkwood as The poor farmer
Linda Arvidson as The poor farmer's wife
Gladys Egan as The poor farmer's daughter
Henry B. Walthall as The wheat king's assistant
Grace Henderson as The wheat king's wife
W. Chrystie Miller as The poor farmer's father

Release

The film was released on December 13, 1909. Because of an upsurge in political populism, audiences reacted to the film positively. Before A Corner in Wheat, Griffith avoided making political statements in his work. After the film's success, he began to make bolder statements about society and politics, such as famously championing white supremacy in The Birth of a Nation (1915).^[4]

References

^ 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/
^ "25 Films Added to National Registry". The New York Times. 1994-11-15. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
^ "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
^ 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.