The Scales of Justice

The Scales of Justice
Series titles with an part image of the Old Bailey statue
GenreDrama
Presented byEdgar Lustgarten
ComposerJohnny Douglas
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes13
Production
ProducerJack Greenwood
Running time30 Minutes
Production companyMerton Park Studios
Original release
Release1962 (1962) –
1967 (1967)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

The Scales of Justice was a series of 13 British cinema featurettes produced from 1962 to 1967 for Anglo-Amalgamated at Merton Park Studios in London.[1] The first nine episodes were made in black and white, and the last four were made in colour. The final episode, Payment in Kind, was Merton Park's last production.

They were based on criminal cases, and each film was introduced by crime writer Edgar Lustgarten. The series derives its title from the symbolic scales held by the statue of Justice, which is situated above the dome of London's Central Criminal Court, The Old Bailey. In the opening narration, she is described as having "in her right hand, the Sword of Power and Retribution, and in her left – The Scales of Justice". The opening seenes of the initial six episodes were narrated by Michael Hordern.

The end version of the theme music for the series (by Johnny Douglas) was performed by The Tornados. It was re-recorded and released as the B side of their single "The Ice Cream Man".

The series became widely known in the UK when it was broadcast as a TV series in various ITV regions during the 1970s. In July 2017, the series aired on the television channel Talking Pictures TV.

In October 2012, Network released the complete series as a two-disc DVD set.

  1. ^ "The Scales of Justice". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 17 August 2024.