D.W. GriffithD.W.Griffith -
A Corner in Wheat (1909)
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 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 by the Library of Congress as being "culturally,
historically, or aesthetically significant".
This is the first film in which D.W. Griffith attempts social commentary. The
scenario parallels the problems of a poor farmer and the dealings of an
ill-fated "wheat king." Based on the novel "The Pit" by
Frank Norris.
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. (comment by Seto-Kaiba )
The Love Flower 1920 Griffith
Could find the new code back again on the archive.
Griffith and crew experienced a perilous voyage from Miami to
the Bahamas during the making of this film, with two washed overboard, and no
food for the crew for three days
Griffith was in love with Carol Dempster (not reciprocated) who was one of
the worst performances of the silent era. She must have been reincarnated as
Julia Roberts. As if the film industry didn't have enough talentless vanilla
queens.
77 min This film has such a bad reputation that I pleasantly surprised when I
watched it. No, it is not one of Griffith's great films, but I was entertained
by it.
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