Editing A Corner in Wheat

{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = A Corner in Wheat
| image          = A Corner in Wheat.jpg
| alt            = <!-- see WP:ALT -->
| caption        = 
| director       = [[D. W. Griffith]]
| producer       = 
| writer         = [[Frank Norris]] (book)
| starring       = Frank Powell<br>Grace Henderson<br>James Kirkwood<br>Linda Arvidson<br>W. C. Miller<br>Gladys Egan<br>H. B. Walthall<br>[[Blanche Sweet]]
| music          = 
| cinematography = [[Billy Bitzer|G. W. Bitzer]]
| editing        = 
| studio         = 
| distributor    = [[American Mutoscope and Biograph Company]]
| released       = {{film date|1909|12|13}}
| runtime        = approx. 15 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = Silent film
| budget         = 
| gross          = 
}}

'''''A Corner in Wheat'''''<ref>Woods, Frank E., Writing, G. W Bitzer, Frank E Powell, Grace Henderson, James Kirkwood, Linda Arvidson, W. Christy Miller, et al. A Corner in Wheat. United States: Biograph, 1909. Video. https://www.loc.gov/item/2012600307/</ref> is a 1909 American short [[silent film]] which tells of a greedy [[tycoon]] who tries to [[Cornering the market|corner the world 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 (Norris novel)|The Pit]]'' and [[A Deal in Wheat and Other Stories of the New and Old West|''A Deal in Wheat'']].

Intercutting ([[cross-cutting]]) between still [[Tableau vivant|tableaux]] of the poor in the [[Poverty threshold|bread line]] and the lavish, active parties of the wealthy speculator somewhat anticipates the [[Film editing|collision montage]] which became a hallmark of the politically charged [[Cinema of the Soviet Union|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".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/15/movies/25-films-added-to-national-registry.html|title=25 Films Added to National Registry|date=1994-11-15|work=The New York Times|access-date=2020-04-24|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Complete National Film Registry Listing |url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/|access-date=2020-06-03|website=Library of Congress}}</ref>

The film was also released on 8mm in the 1960s.

==Cast==
[[File:A Corner in Wheat (1909).webm|thumb|right|thumbtime=7:00|''A Corner in Wheat'' (1909)]]
* [[Frank Powell]] as The wheat king
* [[James Kirkwood Sr.|James Kirkwood]] as The 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

==Release==
The film was released on December 13, 1909. Because of an upsurge in political [[populism]], audiences reacted to the film positively. Before ''A Corner in Wheat'', Griffith avoided making political statements in his work. 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).<ref>{{cite book |last=Eagan |first=Daniel |others=National Film Preservation Board (U.S.) |title=America's film legacy: the authoritative guide to the landmark movies in the National Film Registry |publisher=Continuum |location=New York |date=2010 |pages=20 |isbn=9781441116475 |oclc=676697377}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[D. W. Griffith filmography]]
* [[Blanche Sweet filmography]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline}}
*{{wikisource-inline|A Corner in Wheat|''A Corner in Wheat''|single=true}}
*[https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/corner_in_wheat.pdf ''A Corner in Wheat'' essay by Daniel Eagan] at the [[National Film Registry]]
*[https://www.loc.gov/item/2012600307/ ''A Corner in Wheat''] at the [[Library of Congress]]
* {{IMDb title|id=0000832|title=A Corner in Wheat}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THsc4HPxnAs ''A Corner in Wheat''] on [[YouTube]]

{{D. W. Griffith}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corner In Wheat, A}}
[[Category:1909 films]]
[[Category:1909 drama films]]
[[Category:1900s American films]]
[[Category:1900s English-language films]]
[[Category:American black-and-white films]]
[[Category:Films based on American novels]]
[[Category:Films based on works by Frank Norris]]
[[Category:Short films directed by D. W. Griffith]]
[[Category:Biograph Company films]]
[[Category:United States National Film Registry films]]
[[Category:1909 short films]]
[[Category:Silent American drama short films]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Frank E. Woods]]
[[Category:Surviving American silent films]]
[[Category:Wheat in culture]]
[[Category:English-language drama short films]]


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