The Lying Truth on AllMovie

This drama was a rare directing effort from screenwriter Marion Fairfax. Sam Clairborne Sr. (Charles Mailes) wills his estate to his foster son, Bill O'Hara (Pat O'Malley), because his own son, Sam Clairborne Jr. (George Dromgold), has proven to be a drug fiend and unworthy. Part of the Clairborne estate is a dying newspaper, and O'Hara struggles to keep it alive. Although O'Hara loves Sue DeMuidde (Marjorie Daw), he still exposes her father (Noah Beery) in the paper as someone who rents out his property to drug smugglers. Other than that, there's very little news to be had and the paper is about to fold when O'Hara decides to fake a murder to drum up some excitement. The endeavor is a fiasco, and when a dead body is found in the river, Mr. DeMuidde encourages the townsfolk to believe that O'Hara is the killer. It turns out that the dead man is Sam Jr., and he committed suicide. The truth is revealed just in time to save O'Hara.