''A Corner in Wheat'' is a 1909 American short

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

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 David Wark Griffith (January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948) was an American film director. Considered one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture, he pioneered many aspects of film editing and expanded the art of the na ...

and adapted by Griffith and Frank E. Woods from a novel and a short story by Frank Norris, titled ''

The Pit The Pit may refer to: Places * The Pit, a commonly used name for a mosh pit * The Pit (arena), the main indoor arena at the University of New Mexico * The Pit (memorial), "Яма" the Holocaust memorial in Minsk, Belarus * Elder 'The Pit' Stadiu ...

'' 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 The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception ...

by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The librar ...

as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The film was also released on 8mm in the 1960s.

Cast

Frank Powell Frank Powell (born Francis William Powell, May 8, 1877) was a Canadian-born stage and silent film actor, director, producer, and screenwriter who worked predominantly in the United States."Ontario Births, 1869-1912", digital copy of original ha ...

as The wheat king * James Kirkwood as The poor farmer *

Linda Arvidson Linda Arvidson (born Linda Arvidson Johnson, July 12, 1884 – July 26, 1949; sometimes credited as Linda Griffith) was an American stage and film actress who became one of America's early motion picture stars while working at Biograph Studios in ...

as The poor farmer's wife *

Gladys Egan Gladys Egan (also credited as Gladys Eagan; May 24, 1900March 8, 1985) was an early 20th-century American child actress, who between 1907 and 1914 performed professionally in theatre productions as well as in scores of silent films. She began he ...

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 Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develope ...

, audience reacted to the film positively. Before ''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, such as famously championing

white supremacy White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White s ...

in ''

The Birth of a Nation ''The Birth of a Nation'', originally called ''The Clansman'', is a 1915 American silent epic drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. The screenplay is adapted from Thomas Dixon Jr.'s 1905 novel and play '' The Clansm ...

'' (1915).

References

External links

* *
''A Corner in Wheat'' essay by Daniel Eagan
at the

''A Corner in Wheat''
at the

*
''A Corner in Wheat''
on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

1909 films 1909 drama films American silent short films American black-and-white films Films based on American novels Films based on works by Frank Norris Films directed by D. W. Griffith Biograph Company films United States National Film Registry films 1909 short films Silent American drama films Articles containing video clips Films with screenplays by Frank E. Woods Surviving American silent films 1900s American films {{1900s-short-drama-film-stub

Cast

Release

See also

References

External links