A Corner in Wheat (1909)

Posted on September 5, 2024 by Phil Hall

Notable as being among D.W. Griffith’s earliest attempts to blend cinema and politics, the 1909 short film “A Corner in Wheat” depicted the rise of the “Wheat King,” a speculator who manages to corner the commodity market on wheat. His success brings him great wealth that is spent on opulent entertainment for his friends, while the farmers who grow the wheat are stuck in hardscrabble lives and the lower classes who cannot afford the price gouging by the Wheat King – the cost of bread loaves is hiked from five to ten cents, forcing many to go hungry. However, the triumph of his business ruthlessness occurs moments before a freak accident where he crushed to death in a grain silo.
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The Bootleg Files: The New York Hat

Posted on September 10, 2021 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 778: “The New York Hat” (1912 film directed by D.W. Griffith).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: On multiple labels offering silent films.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: An expired copyright.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: It’s already out there, but that’s not why it is in this column.

In the early years of the silent movies, the bootlegging of film prints was completely out of control. Due the primitive nature of film distribution, it was too easy for cinematic miscreants to swoop in and gather up prints and resell them as their own works, thus denying the profits that the original producers should have recived.
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10 Films That Should Be on the National Film Registry

Posted on December 17, 2020 by Phil Hall

Earlier this week, the Library of Congress announced its annual additions to the National Film Registry. This year, unfortunately, the choices smelled of woke politics – there were a glut of obscure and, quite frankly, unworthy films that were only included because they were not directed by white men – coupled with some cheesy popcorn flicks that fell far short of the “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant films” definition that is supposed to be Registry’s judging criteria.

Rather than pick apart each dismal selection on this year’s Registry, here is an attempt to talk up some far more deserving titles for consideration in the 2021 slate. In chronological order, here are 10 films that should be on the National Film Registry.

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