1 9 5 9 – 1 9 6 1 (UK)
24 x 30 minute episodes
This BBC series starred Bernard Archer as British army interrogator Colonel Oreste Pinto during World War II.
Each episode featured a lengthy interrogation by Pinto, full of psychological tension, to test whether an apparently genuine Allied serviceman or refugee was, in reality, a German spy.
His ingenious methods invariably resulted in the suspect giving himself away.
Despite the sparse set – one room, a table and two chairs – and the small cast, this was an excellent and memorable series.
The real Oreste Pinto was a Dutch intelligence officer working in Britain during WWII who was generally regarded as the best interrogator in his field.
Lt. Col. Oreste Pinto
Bernard Archard
