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| A Corner in Wheat | |
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 | |
| Directed by | D. W. Griffith |
| Written by | Frank Norris (book) |
| Starring | Frank Powell Grace Henderson James Kirkwood Linda Arvidson W. C. Miller Gladys Egan H. B. Walthall Blanche Sweet |
| Cinematography | G. W. Bitzer |
| Distributed by | American Mutoscope and Biograph Company |
Release date |
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Running time | approx. 14 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent film |
A Corner in Wheat is a 1909 American short silent film directed by D.W. Griffith. 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.
Plot[edit]
The film 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.
The film opens on scene of farmer and his family looking solemnly at the season's wheat seeds, before the farmer heads out to the fields to sow them with a team of horses and tillers. Elsewhere, in a formal office, the wheat king is providing instructions to a group of commodity traders, setting in motion his plan to corner the market on wheat.
The film begins to cross-cut between scenes: a sumptuous party in a fine hall where the wheat king celebrates his growing wealth, a humble bread shop where the rising price of flour is causing many to go hungry, and the farm, where the farmer returns from the market empty handed.
The bread king and a group of his wealthy friends take a visit to his grain elevators. Upon entering the facility, they are warned to keep away from an unguarded ledge that opens onto a deep grain silo. During the visit, the king receives a telegram informing him that he has successfully cornered the wheat market, adding millions to his fortune. While reading the message, he steps backward, falling into the grain silo where a cascade of wheat starts piling onto him.
After realizing he is missing, the group rushes back to the elevators, where the wheat king's dead body is being hauled out of the silo. The film closes on a shot of the farmer, sowing the next harvest of wheat, this time alone, slowly fading to black.
Cast[edit]
- Frank Powell as the Wheat King
- James Kirkwood as he 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
Production[edit]
- reference to biograph
- stationary camera throughout
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 Soviet cinema a decade or so later.
- This seems like original research/opinion. Add citation for academic discussion of this
Reception and influence[edit]
The film was released on December 13, 1909. Because of an upsurge in political populism, 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 in The Birth of a Nation (1915).[1]
- remove biographical stuff about griffith
- reference to eisenstein (maybe move cross cutting point here)
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]
- line about why it was deemed significant
The film was also released on 8mm in the 1960s.
- Relevance? Citation? Evidence? By who?
- preservation by Moma (The Lillian Gish Trust for Film Preservation)
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
External links[edit]
Media related to A Corner in Wheat at Wikimedia Commons
The full text of A Corner in Wheat at Wikisource- A Corner in Wheat essay by Daniel Eagan at the National Film Registry
- A Corner in Wheat at the Library of Congress
- A Corner in Wheat at IMDb
- A Corner in Wheat on YouTube
