D.W. Griffith - A Corner in Wheat (1909)
1909 · Silent film · 14 min
Synopsis
A Corner in Wheat is a 1909 short 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 the novel The Pit (1903) by Frank Norris. 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…
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Details
- Running time
- 14 minutes
Reviews on the Internet Archive
★★★★★ · Charming · Seto-Kaiba_Is_Stupid · 2009-01-17
It may be social commentary, but Mr. Griffith keeps it tight and entertaining. The editing is excellent, and it's a lot better than those pathetic soviet films based around the same idea. Good old-time story telling with a message.
★★★★ · Grinding the Poor · gallowglass · 2021-01-31
Why the poster for this film should show a young couple enjoying a romantic tryst in a wheatfield is hard to fathom. There are no young couples in the story, and there is no romantic sub-plot to this solemn screenplay about the evils of capitalism. Rather improbably, a granary owner has managed to corner the entire world market for wheat, so he is able to screw-down the earnings of cereal farmers, while doubling the price of bread, reducing the poor to desperate straits. Griffith uses cross-cutting techniques to dramatise the contrast between the hardscrabble life of the poor and the lavish…
