Old Bailey, London

The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly known as the "Old Bailey" from the street on which it stands, is a court in London and one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court. Part of the present building stands on the site of the medieval Newgate gaol, on Old Bailey, a road which follows the line of the City of London's fortified wall (or bailey), which runs from Ludgate Hill to the junction of Newgate Street and Holborn Viaduct.

The Crown Court sitting at the Central Criminal Court deals with major criminal cases from Greater London and, in exceptional cases, from other parts of England and Wales. Trials at the Old Bailey, as at other courts, are open to the public, albeit subject to stringent security procedures.

Hitchcock's Films

The Paradine Case (1947)

The film's trial takes place in Criminal Court No. 1 of the Old Bailey.

The court was recreated on the Selznick Studios sound stages at a cost of $80,000 and reportedly took 85 days to construct. ^[1]

No Bail for the Judge

Hitchcock intended to shoot scenes for the film inside Criminal Court No. 1.^[1]

Frenzy (1972)

Unlike most of the interior scenes in Frenzy, the trial scene was shot on location at the Old Bailey's Court Number One over the weekend of 7th/8th August 1971. The overhead scene of Blaney in his cell after the "guilty" verdict and of Inspector Oxford reflecting on the trial were filmed at Pinewood Studios.^[1]