A Corner in Wheat
A Corner in Wheat is a 1909 American short silent film which tells of a greedy tycoon who tries to corner the 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". Griffith may have had a real-life inspiration: six months earlier, James A. Patten had actually cornered the market in wheat, and in some cities, the price of bread doubled from five cents to ten, just as in the movie.
Plot
Two men sow a field by hand, while a third plows. Meanwhile, the "wheat king" comes up with idea to corner the market in the grain. He sends his underlings to the wheat pit to buy and sell. He dismisses the pleas of a "ruined man" devastated by his business manipulation.
Cast
- Anthony O'Sullivan
- Arthur V. Johnson
- Billy Quirk
- Blanche Sweet
- Charles Craig
- Charles Hill Mailes
- Dorothy West
- Edith Haldeman
- Edward Dillon
- Frank Evans
- Frank Powell
- George Nichols
- Gertrude Robinson
- Gladys Egan
- Grace Henderson
- Henry B. Walthall
- Henry Lehrman
- James Kirkwood
- Jeanie MacPherson
- Kate Bruce
- Linda Arvidson
- Mack Sennett
- Owen Moore
- Robert Harron
- W. Chrystie Miller
- William J. Butler
More details
| author | D. W. Griffith Frank E. Woods |
|---|---|
| director | D. W. Griffith |
| genre | drama |
| keywords | begin bury business man corner the market cornering the market dinner party grain elevator pit |
| publisher | American Mutoscope and Biograph Company |
| theme | short silent |