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FEATURE FILMS SHOT IN IDAHO LISTED ON NEW WEB SITE 
Film buffs and others interested in Idaho and its history can now instantly access information about feature films that have been shot in the Gem State by logging on to a new Web site created at BSU. The Howard Anderson Idaho Film Archive at www.boisestate.edu/hemingway/film.htm, an online archive of the university’s Idaho Film Collection, is now up and running. It includes listings for Hollywood and independent feature films that were either shot primarily in Idaho or which have crucial scenes or key episodes shot in the state. The site is named for Idaho native Howard Anderson, who donated part of his estate to support the collection.
“I believe this is the only state feature film archive in the entire country,” said Tom Trusky, a Boise State English professor and director of the Hemingway Western Studies Center. “There are archives elsewhere that deal with specific types of films such as historical or 16 millimeter — but none as far as I know that catalog feature films shot in a particular state.” Trusky has spent 20 years researching silent and “talkie” Idaho films and in 1985 established the Idaho Film Collection as part of the Hemingway Center. He worked with Boise State student Irene Taylor and Boise State graphic designer Wayne Gillam to build the online archive. The Internet site provides an indepth glimpse of feature films with Idaho connections, including plot summaries, photographs, the location in Idaho where the film was shot, newspaper articles written during production, reviews, cast and crew listings, and other information. The site also tells whether prints of the films are currently owned by the university’s Idaho Film Collection and provides links to related Web sites. Films included in the archive range from early silent pictures that have now been mostly forgotten to mainstream Hollywood fare. For example, “The Cowpuncher,” shot in 1915 near Idaho Falls in conjunction with the War Bonnet roundup, was an early silent film that is now presumed lost. Other films, such as “Sun Valley Serenade,” a 1941 release starring Sonja Henie, are now considered classics. Then there are newer films, including Clint Eastwood’s “Pale Rider,” shot in Boulder and other Idaho locations in 1985, and “Dante’s Peak,” shot in Wallace in 1997, that went into wide release and are available today in many video stores. Visitors to the Web site will find some fascinating nuggets of information, Trusky noted. “For example, you can find out what Wallace, Idaho looked like before and after Dante’s Peak erupted, where Lana Turner’s hometown was and where Boris Karloff is buried,” he said. Idaho’s spectacular scenery has played a crucial role in bringing filmmakers to the state, Trusky said. In the early 20th century, silent filmmakers, including pioneer director and actress Nell Shipman, were drawn to northern Idaho because of its good rail connections and magnificent settings. The Sun Valley area became a popular location shoot after the resort opened in the late 1930s. Other film crews shot scenes in Boise and Meridian (“Bronco Billy,” 1980), the Coeur D’Alene area (“Smoke Signals,” 1997) and the Ashton area (“The Unconquered,” 1947) to name just a few. Over the years, Trusky has gathered thousands of pages of reviews, newspaper articles, photographs, interviews and other memorabilia about Idaho films. Taylor, an interdisciplinary studies major at Boise State, organized that information for the online archive, while Gillam designed the site. “Before I started this project, I had no idea so many films were made in Idaho,” said Taylor, who hopes to eventually pursue a career as a film restorationist. “It gave me a better understanding of the work and time it takes to find out about these films.” Trusky said the archive is “a living thing” that he hopes grows in both size and scope in the coming years. He welcomes donations of photos, posters and prints of feature films, as well as personal anecdotes. “I’m hoping people will come forward with letters about how they worked as an extra on a movie set in Idaho,” Trusky said. “We’d love to hear from the public about their Idaho movie making memories.” Contact:
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