Description

A Corner in Wheat is a 1909 American short silent film which tells of a greedy tycoon who tries to cornering the market on wheat, destroying the lives of the people who can no longer afford to buy bread. It was directed by David Wark Griffith and adapted by Griffith and Frank E. Woods from the novel The Pit (Norris novel) (1903) by Frank Norris.
Intercutting (cross-cutting) between still tableau vivant of the poor in the bread line and the lavish, active parties of the wealthy speculator somewhat anticipates the Film editing which became a hallmark of the politically charged Cinema of the Soviet Union 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”.
The film was also released on 8mm in the 1960s.

Cast

• Frank Powell as The wheat king
• James Kirkwood, Sr. as The poor farmer
• Linda Arvidson as The poor farmer’s wife
• 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