CELEBRATING JIM FRENCH’S MEETING OF THE MINDS

I RECENTLY ENJOYED (YET AGAIN) A PARTICULAR  HARRY NILE adventure, one of Jim French’s Imagination Theatre productions out of Seattle. These radio programs were originally broadcast 1976–2010 in a variety of locales ranging from Galena Alaska, to San Diego California,  to Green River Wyoming, to as far east as Bangor Maine and Daytona Beach Florida, and even as distant as New Zealand. 

Though not my SoCal. I learned of Jim French Productions only later through SiriusXM “Radio Classics,” and subsequently discussed them here at SimanaitisSays. One was about its superbly canonical renderings of  Sherlock Holmes.

Another Imagination Theatre Sleuth. Jim, his wife Pat, and their colleagues had other sleuths, among them Hilary Caine. She’s described by Wikipedia as “an independent young woman who has the ability to investigate cases using a reasoned train of thought….  Hilary Caine is employed by the English tabloid Tittle-Tattle Magazine as an investigator. Her cases are published in the magazine under the banner of Hilary Caine, Girl Detective, all rewritten by the magazine staff to remove Hilary’s various personality quirks and present her in the most positive light.”

“As a result of living a real and imaginary life,” Wikipedia continues, “Hilary is apparently confused on occasion about where fact ends and fiction begins.”

An example: “Hilary: ‘As I said to Sherlock Holmes at lunch the other day …’ ”

“Finn: ‘Hilary, Sherlock Holmes is a fictional character.’ ”

“Hilary: ‘Really? Then who did I have lunch with?’ ”

Hilary Caine, one of the Imagination Theatre sleuths.

In her 22 episodes, Hilary is charming, witty, and not at all timid in questioning English cozy mystery settings of the 1930s. And, in this particular broadcast I’ve (re)enjoyed, she surfaces in one of the 18 “War Comes to Harry Nile” series. Indeed, she’s not the only unexpected personage to appear there.

Harry and the War. Though he tries to enlist immediately after Pearl Harbor, Harry is declared 4F and instead finds employment in defense plant security. Indeed, in one episode Harry becomes tantalizingly close to (spoiler side-stepped here) modification of a bomber aircraft for long-range carrier-based duty.

His other adventures are just as reality-based in creating the atmosphere of blackouts, gas rationing, espionage, and other wartime matters. 

Harry in England. This is a two-part episode, its first part taking place in June, 1944. Harry’s security ken finds him in England where he’s investigating murder and treason. His English minder is no less than Hilary Caine, just as charming and witty as in her cozy sleuthing days the decade before.

Golf, Cheese and Chess. Hilary tells him, in strict confidence, about the “Golf, Cheese and Chess Society” in the village of Bletchley, Buckinghamshire. The English country house Bletchley Park is headquarters for the Government Code and Cypher School, the principal center of Allied code-breaking during the war.

Among the GC&CS team was Alan Turing.  Also see “Turing’s Bombe” for an earlier reference to this tale.

Another essential member of the team is referred to as “The Old Man,” “smarter than even Alan Turing.” When Hilary introduces The Old Man to Harry, Harry notes a resemblance to Basil Rathbone he’d just viewed at the movies. That’s “cinema,” Hilary corrects.

The Old Man observes that Harry has been recently visiting the zoo. “You’ve been feeding the animals,” he deduces from “minute peanut remnants” on the soles of Harry’s shoes. The Old Man doesn’t have to see them; “the crunch of the shells under your feet was minute but nonetheless distinctive.”

The Old Man’s voice is familiar to Jim French Production listeners.  

When Harry later brashly asks about The Old Man’s age, he’s told, “I attribute my longevity to an extract of royal jelly. I keep bees, y’know.”

The Bletchley Park matter is ultimately resolved, with plenty of other entertaining Jim French characters: There’s a nurse named Sister Hilda Hitler (“of the English branch; just because one family member has blotted his copy book that’s no reason for me to change my name….”). There’s a conspiracy-enfused believer in nazi-aiding aliens and another who’s a government-sponsored kleptomaniac. 

Fifteen Years Later. Harry visits England for a memorial service. “I was very sorry to hear about The Old Man,” he says to Hilary. She replies, “He sends his regards, by the way…. [He’s] positively thriving…. What with those films and silly societies springing up all over the world, it was terribly inconvenient. This seems the best way of insuring his privacy.” This, pronounced short-i Brit-style.

“But whenever he’s needed,” Hilary says, “he will be back.”

“So will we all,” Harry says, “So will we all.” 

For which I am most grateful. Thanks, Jim and Pat French. ds

© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2024