As with the other Merton Park productions, IMDb has got it wrong in describing these as a "TV series". They were cinema second features produced for Anglo Amalgamated running around 30 minutes and followed the "Scotland Yard" series of shorts also introduced by Edgar Lustgarten. Production was sporadic (presumably filling gaps in the Edgar Wallace schedule), the first three released Nov-Dec 1962, a second batch of three released Sept/Oct 1963, two more in Feb 1965, one in Dec 1965 and a final batch (in colour) Sept 1966 to March 1967. The usual Merton Park recipe of familiar British actors in tightly plotted screenplays (based on real cases) with better than usual B movies production standards. All thirteen have now (Oct 2012) been released on DVD by Network.
4 Reviews
Crime Series Trying to Blend Into the Swinging Sixties!!
kidboots28 June 2018
Warning: Spoilers
I'm obviously easier to please than the other reviewers but I really liked
this show a lot and was very interested in the back ground story as well.
Created as a follow up to the very popular "Scotland Yard" series but
while the latter was a pretty grim, strictly business look at crime, SOJ
sometimes went for the light hearted as in "The Undesirable Neighbour"
where a nosy neighbour has it in for a pretty newly wed who makes the
mistake of wanting to earn extra money from her former profession -
modelling!!
While "Scotland Yard" was unmistakably the 1950s of "The Blue Lamp" and "Dixon of Dock Green", SOJ tried to go for trendiness with the Tornadoes, so up to the minute in the early 1960s, providing the very cheesy theme music. As the series progressed, from 1965 it was made in colour and also put more effort into finding more established (Dermot Walsh) and newer, exciting talent (Alexandra Bastedo and Keith Barron). The latter two were in a terrific one - "The Haunted Man" from 1966, an actor is caught up in a jewelry store robbery, he is convinced he would know the culprit anywhere and tries to track him down.
Others I enjoyed were "A Woman's Privilege" - complications arise on a cruise when a woman encourages a lonely man to believe she cares for him. It's a goodie with a surprising outcome. "Moment of Decision" - one of the best with Ray Barrett as a despicable husband who capitalizes on his wife's post natal depression when a baby is kidnapped from a local park. "Personal and Confidential" - must have been publicized as "ripped from today's headlines" as a Profumo like story of diplomats and espionage etc as a diligent secretary makes a fatal mistake - the ending, again, is surprising.
"Payment in Kind" was the last and really ended the series with a bang as director Peter Duffell and cinematographer Jimmy Harvey tried to experiment with a grittier subject and achieved psychological realism. A young wife becomes immersed in higher purchase debt until the collector suggests "payment in kind".
This series was the last made for Merton Park for cinema release but was then televised for Independent Television in the early 1970s.
Very Recommended.
While "Scotland Yard" was unmistakably the 1950s of "The Blue Lamp" and "Dixon of Dock Green", SOJ tried to go for trendiness with the Tornadoes, so up to the minute in the early 1960s, providing the very cheesy theme music. As the series progressed, from 1965 it was made in colour and also put more effort into finding more established (Dermot Walsh) and newer, exciting talent (Alexandra Bastedo and Keith Barron). The latter two were in a terrific one - "The Haunted Man" from 1966, an actor is caught up in a jewelry store robbery, he is convinced he would know the culprit anywhere and tries to track him down.
Others I enjoyed were "A Woman's Privilege" - complications arise on a cruise when a woman encourages a lonely man to believe she cares for him. It's a goodie with a surprising outcome. "Moment of Decision" - one of the best with Ray Barrett as a despicable husband who capitalizes on his wife's post natal depression when a baby is kidnapped from a local park. "Personal and Confidential" - must have been publicized as "ripped from today's headlines" as a Profumo like story of diplomats and espionage etc as a diligent secretary makes a fatal mistake - the ending, again, is surprising.
"Payment in Kind" was the last and really ended the series with a bang as director Peter Duffell and cinematographer Jimmy Harvey tried to experiment with a grittier subject and achieved psychological realism. A young wife becomes immersed in higher purchase debt until the collector suggests "payment in kind".
This series was the last made for Merton Park for cinema release but was then televised for Independent Television in the early 1970s.
Very Recommended.
Compelling 'television'
grunsel17 July 2018
There has been much criticism about Merton Park Productions being listed as TV series proper on IMDB, but as they were very popular TV fillers anyway it's frankly the easiest way to view each series as a whole rather than sporadic films on the IMDB lists. Plus of course most of the films are now listed separately anyway in their theatrical versions.
The Scales of Justice series was perhaps initially a disappointment to those expecting old Edgar in a creepy room introducing a noir, grim, dirty raincoat murder as it's predecessor 'Scotland Yard' would do. This new series was fresh and modern in it's approach and dealt with the trials and tribulations of the less severe aspects of 'the human condition' and so nothing much has changed and all the cases featured could well happen in the present day.
Add into the mix,good production values for the tiny budget, lively location work, great court room scenes and a couple of amusing 'light' episodes and you have a series that could have ran and ran ...on television. It's a shame that an ITV company never adopted Merton Park as a subsidiary.
Shorts that replaced B features
malcolmgsw8 September 2017
This series of shorts replaced B features on thé Associated British Cinemas circuit.The fact that the last films were made in colour,indicates that they were thinking about their eventual sale to TV.They are competently made with reasonable plots and cast with Well known actors
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