First there was Jim French Productions, Inc.  and P.I. Harry Nile

And now there is Ronnie D'Silva

 

 

For 12 years I was a staff writer with Jim French Productions, Inc., a producer of audio drama whose flagship show was The Adventures of Harry Nile.

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I wrote over 25 episodes of the Harry Nile series and an additional 13 non-series "stand alone" scripts through a contract that was very writer friendly in that I owned my scripts to do with as I pleased.

 

JFP only purchased the first time production rights.

 

The one limitation on my use of the scripts was that where Jim French himself developed the names of characters, those names had to be changed when I later used the scripts. Since Jim named his characters (such as Harry Nile) I, of course, have to change it.

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Through the years an occasional script of mine has been performed live at a theatre and I have changed Harry's name to Ronnie D'Silva, but the stories remained intact.

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Sadly, in December of 2017 the audio drama world became all the poorer for the passing of Jim French. Now, six months later I have decided to resurrect all my Harry Nile scripts and offer them for license, sale or performance, with the changes needed, of course, and then some.

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The stories will remain in the mid-1950's (give or take a few years) but I am making more than just name changes.

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1. The scripts will be fleshed out a little more because they are no longer limited to the length dictated by broadcast constraints. Most of them were 20-25 minutes in length or a "double" length of 40-48 minutes.

2. Ronnie D'Silva will be like Harry Nile only in the fact that he has integrity as a human being (although it will slip occasionally.) Where he changes is:

   1. He is in his early 30's (Harry was in his late 40's early 50's)

   2. He is a veteran but did not see action.

   3. He has a love life.

   4. Where Harry didn't drink, Ronnie does imbibe.

   5. Ronnie enjoys a good cigar but not cigarettes.

   6. Ronnie swears.

   7. The detective agency is successful.

   8. He is known to frequent the local jazz scene.

   9. Yeah, there's fisticuffs, when needed.

   10. He can be a real pisser when he wants to be.

   11. He's not adverse to a little underhandedness to get what he needs.

   12. Ronnie is not an ex-cop.

   13. Ronnie is physical and very fit.

3. There will be, of course, a larger female presence.

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There will be other changes, of course as I work on the scripts but the basic stories that many people loved (some of them were best-sellers) will remain and hopefully made much better now that there are no restrictions to hold them back.  

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PLEASE NOTE: THIS INCLUDES THE 5-PART MINI-SERIAL "YOU SHOULDN'T DETOUR OFF ROUTE 66" which was a finalist in 2016 for writing and directing at the Moondance International Film Festival which has an audio drama category.  PLUS: A script that, although produced, has not yet seen radio play titled: The Shrouded Library.

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Please also note if you are interested in the series but want to see your own changes I am not adverse to discussions.

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If you are interested in seeing scripts or talking with me or my representatives simply go to the contact page and send us a message.  I should also mention that there are about a half dozen scripts that I never finished that can be finished at some point.

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Remember, individual scripts are available but the whole series is available in one fell swoop, not only for audio but TV series, Internet series, Graphic Novel series, if you can think of it, it's available.  

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Below is a list of the scripts with a small log line. Highlighted scripts are the ones that have been changed.

 

Blood on the Snow: Ronnie meets, for the first time, Remy La Porte and it's truly a friendship borne of fire, gunfire that is, as someone is keeping them pinned in a ski lodge without much hope of rescue.

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Ronnie and the Computer: This is a double length story. Ronnie gets a crash course in the future but no matter, a thief is a thief is a thief and he needs to stop him from leaking important information.

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The Thirty Year Wait: Ronnie knows this new case is a long shot. It's a missing person quest for someone who disappeared thirty years ago. Or did they? He learns a little more about Seattle's bootlegging past and about a possible 30 year old murder.

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Hidden in Plain Sight: During WWII the Boeing factory in Seattle created a false neighborhood on its roof to confuse possible invading bombers. Now, after the war, it turns out someone is living up there and hiding a possible treasure.

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80 Miles of Bad Road: Escort this preening idiot from point A to X and that's the end of the job. Until men with guns show up, shoot up a roadside diner and send Ronnie, his client and the waitress on a frantic run along a river to safety.

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The Fatal Felines of Phinney Ridge (or, Death by Cat): An insurance investigator friend of Ronnie's is sure a man was murdered, but he's not sure how to prove it. All he has to go on is a tuna fish sandwich, an open window and a stray cat.

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The Shrouded Library: This is a double length story that wasn't produced until after Jim French Productions closed and Jim, himself, passed away. As of this writing (June 2018) it has not been heard on the radio but it is slated for play later this year. It's now been converted to a Ronnie D'Silva story and involves Ronnie and his friends Remy and Rose traveling to a mansion on an isolated island in the San Juan's to find out if the wife of the owner really killed herself, or if someone else murdered her. Complete with a crazy young woman hunting butterflies, to a dying husband and a cold-as-dead-fish housekeeper, this little island is a complete microorganism of bizarre.

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The Moxie Sisters: Ronnie is sick in bed at home so Lydia steps in to entertain his childhood friend, Rose O'Grady when she visits. At dinner the women spot someone who is going to involve the women in a few terrifying hours of cat and mouse and all Ronnie can do is get their frantic phone calls.

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Missing Lydia: Lydia is the glue that keeps Ronnie's office running smoothly and he as devoted to her as she to he, so when someone kidnaps her… well, it's not going to be pretty.

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Is Anyone There?: Ronnie is caught in an explosion and trapped in the sub-basement of a deserted  building. His only guide is the tap-tap-tapping of the other trapped person. (this is 98% a one man show that was written on a dare that you couldn't write a one man show that wasn't all narration. I, in turn, wrote it without ANY narration.)

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Murder on the Empire Builder: What should have been an easy, and pleasant, assignment turns into an Agatha Christie story, except the murder here is real.

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The Nightmares of Melinda Magee: Ronnie's new client has come to him with a truly strange request; she wants him to prove that she actually did commit a brutal murder.      

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A Thief's Duty: Ronnie's back in the mountains, this time with Lydia to see the grand opening of the ski lodge Remy La Porte is helping run. The problem is; they've got a thief making good use of all the festivities.

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The Bloody Bell Ringer: A trip to the mountains with his friend Remy La Porte turns into a desperate search for a vicious killer.

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Dueling Divas: Ronnie gets called in to help out backstage at the Opera and two Soprano's ready to take their storied feud to levels that are dangerous.

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Ronnie and the Hobos: Ronnie has suffered a head injury and doesn't know who he is. Fortunately a few Hobos are willing to help him, except one of them because they think he may have murdered someone.

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The Hobo's New Year: The Hobos who helped Ronnie have found a solid life again and he's gone down to Portland to visit them for New Years, even if it is in underground tunnels and stolen loot.

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It Ain't Over 'til the Fat Man Sings: Ronnie gets called in as a favor to see who's filching from the local church's poor box and why everyone's convinced it's a frame up.

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Poetic Justice: Clues come in all kinds of forms for a detective, but this is the first time riddles and poems lead Ronnie and his client forward.

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Remy's Regret: Ronnie's friend Remy La Porte (the ex-French Resistance Fighter) is beaten up but he's the one the cops think murdered his sister-in-law.

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Rosie Rides Again: Ronnie's friend from childhood, Rose O'Grady is in town to see Elvis Presley in concert and ends up helping Ronnie find out who's taking pot shots at him in his office.

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What's Hidden in Grandma's Piano: Ronnie's childhood friend Rose O'Grady comes to town to ask Ronnie to help him get her grandmother's piano from a strange recluse who  has his own ideas on what he wants to give up, or not.

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Just to See Her Smile: One of Ronnie's very first cases (he was in his twenties) finding out who is sabotaging a cartoon studio in Los Angeles.

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Death in Small Doses: In The Fatal Felines of Phinney Ridge Ronnie was convinced that the wife was the murderer, but couldn't prove it. Now it looks like someone has marked her to be next.

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You Shouldn't Detour off Route 66: (5-episode mini-series) : Ronnie is hired to escort  a young woman from California to New Mexico along the fabled Route 66. The problem, however, is that the young woman wants to make a few side trips and Ronnie finds that liars, cheaters, thieves, murderers and tall women with shotguns give him plenty of reasons why you shouldn't detour off Route 66.  

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And remember, I have six or seven half finished scripts for the Harry Nile series which now, of course, will be transferred to brand new Ronnie D'Silva stories.