as Max Sieppe, Trina's younger brother Otto Gottell as Moritz Sieppe, Trina's younger brother Joan Standing as Selina, Trina's cousin Max Tyron as Uncle Rudolph Oelbermann, Trina's uncle Subplots Dale Fuller as Maria Miranda Macapa, Zerkow's wife Cesare Gravina as Zerkow, a junkman Frank Hayes as Charles W. Grannis, proprietor of the Modern Dog Hospital Fanny Midgley as Miss Anastasia Baker, Grannis's neighbor and later wife Friends and Neighbors at Polk Street Hughie Mack as Mr. Heise, the harness maker E. "Tiny" Jones as Mrs. Heise J. Aldrich Libbey as Mr. Ryer Reta Revela as Mrs. Ryer S.S. Simon as Joe Frenna Hugh J. McCauley as the photographer William Mollenhauer as the palmist Others William Barlow as the Minister Lon Poff as the man from the lottery company James F. Fulton as Cribbens, a prospector James Gibson as a Deputy Jack McDonald as the sheriff of Placer County Erich von Stroheim as the balloon vendor Production Background and writing Greed is based on the American author Frank Norris's 1899 novel McTeague: A Story of San Francisco. Von Stroheim's interest in McTeague can be traced back to January 1920, when he told a journalist that he wanted to film the novel. He had lived in San Francisco in the early 1910s, living there in poverty like that of the story's characters. He eventually moved to Los Angeles, and worked his way up in the film industry from extra to acting in villainous or aristocratic roles in films. By 1919, von Stroheim had finally become a successful director in his own right at Universal Film Manufacturing Company, although one with a reputation of going over budget and over schedule. Upon the appointment of Irving Thalberg as general manager at Universal, von Stroheim's defiance of commercial and industrial norms was no longer tolerated. After Thalberg's prior shutdown of Foolish Wives in 1921 (which had been shooting nonstop for eleven months), and after six weeks of filming on Merry-Go-Round, von Stroheim was finally fired from the studio on October 6, 1922. This was a step unprecedented in Hollywood, heralding a new era in which the producer and the studio would hold artistic control over actors and directors. However, by this time von Stroheim had received several offers of contracts with other studios, even before being fired from Universal. He had met with executives of the Goldwyn Company on September 14, 1922, less than a