Public Domain Movies

"Corner in Wheat" is a short social drama, directed by D.W. Griffith, featuring Robert Harron and cinematographer Billy Bitzer, stars of Silent Hall of Fame.

A greedy speculator decides to "corner" the wheat market, artificially raise the price on the market and profit from this.  He is successful and makes a huge amount of money, but his action has disastrous consequences in real life, where the price of bread doubles, many people cannot afford it any more, wheat growers are ruined and the supply of charity bread is drastically reduced.

Arthur V. Johnson has a prominent role on the floor of the exchange.

"Corner in Wheat" was added to the National Film Registry in 1994 as being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Directed by                       D.W. Griffith
Scenario                            D.W. Griffith, Frank E. Woods
Based on                           the novel The Pit (1903) by Frank Norris
Cinematography               G.W. Bitzer
Starring                             Frank Powell, Henry Walthall, Arthur V. Johnson
Distributed by                   Biograph Company
Release date                      December 13, 1909
Country                             United States
Running time                    14 m.

You can see a slideshow of stills from this film and other interesting stuff on our website silent-hall-of-fame.org.

Silent Hall of Fame is the only place where we actively work to bring back from oblivion the names and legacy of formerly illustrious silent movie stars, which have made a major contribution to the industry and the world but do not have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

We also fight for your right, the right of the public, to see silent masterpieces that have been kept in hidden vaults for far too long. Our website streams for free one such masterpiece that has not been seen in 85 years and is not available anywhere else.

Please visit our website to watch quality silent films absolutely free and to support the legacy of silent movie stars with your tax deductible contribution.

Silent Hall of Fame has started an online campaign to begin raising funds for the nomination of our first star for the Hollywood Walk of Fame. All contributions are tax deductible. Here is the web page:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/support-a-silent-movie-star-for-the-w...
Please spread the word about the campaign and Silent Hall of Fame and help your favorite silent star receive belated recognition and glory.

Silent Hall of Fame, a nonprofit organization
Preserving the legacy of silent movie stars
http://silent-hall-of-fame.org/