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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

100 years ago in Inland Northwest: Spokane movie wins praise by Variety; Nez Perce Tribe to be featured in Hollywood film

A Los Angeles company making a film in the Inland Northwest lavished praise on Kamiah, Idaho – where the movie was made – as well as the Nez Perce Tribe. (Spokesman-Review archives)

Variety reviewed the recently finished movie completed by a fledging Spokane movie company, declaring it “strong.”

“Trampled Truth,” formerly known as “Fool’s Gold,” was made by the Washington Motion Picture Corp., which was located at Minnehaha Park.

“Starting amid the woods and mountains, beside still waters and rushing rivers, it ends dramatically,” the national theater magazine said. “Its closing scenes show men in conventional evening dress hurrying down a burning mine shaft to rescue men entrapped. These last scenes alone should get the money. They are realistic, perfectly pictured and dramatic to a degree.”

More from the motion picture beat: A Los Angeles company making a film in the Inland Northwest lavished praise on Kamiah, Idaho – where the movie was made – as well as the Nez Perce Tribe.

Many members of the tribe appeared in the movie, “Told in the Hills,” and several silent film stars were featured. The praise was so over-the-top that it bordered on racist when comparisons were made with other tribes.

“Whenever our company needs Indians for a production, we will use the Nez Perces,” actor Charles Ogle said. “When ‘Told in the Hills’ is released and other companies see what we have found, they will come here to negotiate with these Indians for pictures. There are few tribes that I have not seen and it’s been my privilege to work with a good many tribes, and I want to say these Nez Perces are a superior people.”

Locals in Kamiah “rendered every possible assistance,” he said.

“If we had ordered the settings made, they could not have been more perfect and were so close to our hotel,” Ogle said.

From the education beat: May 23 would be the last day of school for most students at schools outside the city of Spokane. But some smaller schools already had finished their school years. Still other schools had decided to remain open longer – as late as June 13 because schools had been forced to close for several weeks as a result of the flu pandemic.

From the Wobbly beat: Some Spokane members of the International Workers of the World (Wobblies) were sympathized with Bill Haywood, a national leader of the union. But now that he was imprisoned for violating the Espionage Act of 1917, they mostly agreed with a decision made at the union’s convention in Chicago to renounce him.

“Our delegates from Spokane were at the convention and what they did with the others there has the approval of the Spokane local – of that I’m sure,” said Joe McDonald, an IWW official in Spokane. “Sabotage has long since been abandoned and I guess it’s time Haywood went, too.”

Jim Kershner is on sabbatical.