First Look at ‘The Lie Detector’: Documentary ‘American Experience’ Reveals Story of Device Claimed to Kill Lawyers

EXCLUSIVE: Get ready for a fascinating evening of documentaries with the premiere of The lie detector.

Directed by Rob Rapley and executive produced by Cameo George, the film explores the story of a device supposedly designed to determine whether a person is telling the truth by measuring physiological responses to probing questions. It debuted as part of the long-running PBS series American experience on Tuesday, January 3 at 9:00 p.m. The film is also available on PBS.org and the PBS Video App.

“Today, the polygraph is little more than a curiosity to the general public,” sums up the film’s note. “But for decades, the device has been an inescapable part of American life, used by the police, government, CIA and FBI, and more than half of the nation’s retail industry.” Designed to lure out communists, swindlers, criminals and homosexuals, it was used on millions of ordinary people and changed the lives of tens of thousands forever. But in most cases the results were little better than guesswork. The polygraph, not fully accepted in any other country, remains a uniquely American phenomenon.”

Actor Andre Braugher narrates the film, which examines the roles of three men in the creation of the apparent truth meter: police officer John Larson, Larson’s assistant Leonarde Keeler, and psychologist William Marston. The last of the three, Marston, not only made his name with an early version of a lie detector, but also occupies a peculiar place in the history of the entertainment industry. 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 included in audience test movies.

The science behind the invention has always been questionable.

“Although [the ‘Marston Deception Test’] just a blood pressure cuff and since a polygraph was useless, Marston advertised it as almost infallible,” reads a synopsis of the film. “Over the years, Marston used his polygraph for everything from courtship to marriage counseling – to stay 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 the 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.