The Scales of Justice

*The Scales of Justice*
The Scales of Justice
Genre	Drama
Presented by	Edgar Lustgarten
Starring
Composer	Johnny Douglas
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of episodes	13
Production
Producer	Jack Greenwood
Running time	30 Minutes
Production company	Merton Park Studios
Release
Picture format	35 mm film 4:3
Original release	1962 –; 1967

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

They were based on actual 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 Retribution, and in her left – The Scales of Justice'

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 even more widely known in the UK when it was broadcast as a TV series in various ITV regions during the 1970s and since. In July 2017 the series commenced on the free-to-air television channel Talking Pictures TV.

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

Episode guide[]

Title	Date	Cast	Director	Format	Story
1. ""	1962	Zena Marshall, , Derek Francis, Jack Gwillim, Wensley Pithey, Kenneth Thornett		B&W	Edward Sinclair and his wife Thelma live surrounded by wealth and luxury. But Sinclair is weighed down heavily by debts.
2. ""	1962	Bernard Archard, Ann Lynn, Patrick Wymark, Ernest Clark, Noel Hood, Pamela Greer, Gerald Cross	Anthony Bushell	B&W	On a cruise to cheer herself up after a broken romance, Shirley Fawsett meets Joe Ashton. The result is a court case where he sues her for breach of promise.
3. ""	1962	Ray Barrett, , Marjie Lawrence, , Mike Sarne, Michael Aspel,		B&W	A nursemaid loses the baby in her charge.
4. ""	1963	Derrick Sherwin, Imogen Hassall, Edward Atienza, Peter Barkworth, Geoffrey Chater, Cyril Luckham, Robert Lankesheer	Lionel Harris	B&W	The extrovert son of a powerful industrialist meets a pretty French girl called Yvonne at a Bohemian night spot, becoming infatuated, gradually growing their relationship resulting in an illicit weekend away from his fiancée. The weekend begins promisingly but after their first night together a man barges into their Brighton hotel bedroom, claiming to be a private detective acting for Yvonne's husband.
5. ""	1963	Vanda Godsell, Bridget Armstrong, Anthony Newlands, Ronald Hatton, Garfield Morgan, Dorinda Stevens	Gordon Hales	B&W	When a young married couple move into a new home the wife is popular with the local men and starts the gossips buzzing.
6. ""	1963	Kenneth J. Warren, Ronald Leigh-Hunt, Annette Carell, Gabriella Licudi, Stanley Morgan, Kenneth Benda, , Philip Latham	Norman Harrison	B&W	In a city restaurant the owner blackmails his most influential customers by using a hidden microphone on a special table.
7. ""	1965	, Harry Littlewood, Howard Lang, Geoffrey Toone, Jeffrey Segal, Windsor Davies, , Don McKillop	Geoffrey Nethercott	B&W	Found in the briefcase of the man in Room 755, who fell, or was pushed, from a seventh storey window is a red file, marked "Top Secret".
8. ""	1965	Christine Finn, , Alex Macintosh, Robert James, Gretchen Franklin, Vernon Dobtcheff, Peter Stephens,		B&W	Jane Penshurst writes a book attacking MP Milsom. When Milsom shoots himself, his son, William, seeks revenge.
9. ""	1965	, Reginald Marsh, , Harry Locke, Hector Ross, John Horsley,		B&W	A young man is the personal assistant to a company executive who has little time for him.
10. ""	1966	Barrie Ingham, , Maurice Kaufmann, Garfield Morgan	Peter Duffell	Colour	Five strangers from varied walks of life come together to investigate the life of a man who has caused them all serious financial losses and to exact their own private revenge.
11. ""	1966	Keith Barron, James Ellis, Alexandra Bastedo, Isobel Black, Tenniel Evans,		Colour	Actor Bill Kenton, injured trying to prevent a raid on a shop, returns to his career, to find that he cannot remember his lines. Forced to leave the theatre, he becomes a man obsessed with finding the thieves.
12. ""	1966	Dermot Walsh, Bridget Armstrong, Ewen Solon, Richard Warner,	Richard Martin	Colour	Struck off the medical register, surgeon, Anthony Searle meets Dixon, a bank robber on the run and Dixon wants a "face job".
13. ""	1967	Justine Lord, Maxine Audley, , Derrick Sherwin, , Henry McGee,	Peter Duffell	Colour	The dedicated wife of a struggling businessman falls behind on the hire purchase payments and the debt collector suggests "payment in kind".

External links[]

The Scales of Justice at IMDb

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