Kessler (TV series)

Kessler

Cover of the DVD release.
Created by John Brason
Gerard Glaister
Starring Clifford Rose
Alan Dobie
Nitza Saul
Alison Glennie
Nicholas Young
Bernard Hepton
Country of origin United Kingdom
No. of episodes 6
Production
Running time 50 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel BBC1
Original run 13 November 1981 – 18 December 1981

Kessler is a television series produced by the BBC in 1981, starring Clifford Rose in the title role.

The six-part serial is a sequel to the Second World War drama series Secret Army, set in the 1970s and following the progress of former SS Sturmbannführer Ludwig Kessler, now living under the alias of industrialist Manfred Dorf, and trying to avoid being discovered as a war criminal. Ranged against him are West German intelligence operative Richard Bauer (Alan Dobie) and young Israeli vigilante Mical Rak (Nitza Saul). Bauer and Rak's quest for justice moves from Europe to Paraguay, where other notorious real-life war criminals, Martin Bormann and Josef Mengele are featured.

Another prominently placed character is Kessler's daughter Ingrid (Alison Glennie), an advocate of Nazism who schemes for the young Nazis to take over from the old guard and tries to persuade her father to give financial backing to their organisation.

The premise for Kessler has its origins in the unscreened final episode of Secret Army - "What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?" - in which the main characters are reunited in 1969 to participate in a documentary entitled "In Our Time" about their lives during the war. This element was revived in Kessler with former Secret Army cast members Bernard Hepton (Albert Foiret), Angela Richards (Monique Durnford, née Duchamps) and Juliet Hammond-Hill (Natalie Chantrens) reprising their roles for the first episode, in which as minor characters in this drama they meet again and reminisce about their wartime activities running the resistance organisation Lifeline. Monique and Natalie are certain that Dorf is Kessler, but Albert claims to be less sure.

Many other former Secret Army production personnel were involved with Kessler, most notably producer Gerard Glaister, writer John Brason and directors Michael E. Briant and Tristan DeVere Cole.

Kessler was released on DVD (Region 2, UK) by DD Home Entertainment, who had previously released the complete (barring "What Did You Do in the War Daddy?") series of Secret Army.

Cast

External links