EXCLUSIVE: Get ready for a mesmerizing night of documentaries with the premiere of The lie detector.
Directed by Rob Rapley and executive producer Cameo George, the film explores the story of a device supposedly designed to detect whether a person is telling the truth by measuring physiological responses to probing questions. It debuts as part of the long-running PBS series American experience on Tuesday 3 January at 9 p.m. The film will also be available on PBS.org and the PBS Video app.
“Today, the polygraph is little more than a curiosity to the general public,” reads a summary of the film. “But for decades, the device was an inescapable part of American life, used by the police, government, CIA and FBI, and more than half of the nation’s retail establishments. Designed to track down communists, scammers, criminals and homosexuals, it has been used on millions of ordinary people and changed tens of thousands of lives forever. But in most cases, the results were little better than guesswork. The polygraph, which is not fully accepted in any other country, remains a uniquely American phenomenon.”
Actor Andre Braugher narrates the film, which explores the roles of three men in the creation of the alleged truth meter: police officer John Larson, Larson’s assistant Leonarde Keeler, and psychologist William Marston. The latter of the three, Marston, not only made his name with an early version of a lie detector, but also holds an odd place in entertainment history. He and his wife created the comic book character Wonder Woman, who was later transformed into a television and film superhero. And as the exclusive clip above shows, Marton also took his Love Meter device to Hollywood, where it was incorporated into movie viewership tests.
The science behind its invention was always in doubt.
“Even though [the ‘Marston Deception Test’] simply a blood pressure cuff and when polygraphs were useless, Marston advertised them as nearly infallible,” reads a summary of the film. “Over the years, Marston has used his polygraph for everything from courtship to marriage therapy – staying ahead of his creditors and sometimes the law.”
PBS describes American experience as “television’s most-watched history series, bringing to life the incredible characters and epic stories that have shaped America’s past and present.” American experience Documentaries have won all major broadcast awards, including 30 Emmy Awards, four duPont-Columbia Awards and 19 George Foster Peabody Awards.”
Cameo George is the executive producer of the series. American experience is produced by GBH Boston for PBS.
Check out the exclusive clip from The lie detector Above.