| The Butler's Dilemma | |
| Director: | Leslie S. Hiscott |
| Music: | John Blore Borelli (as John Blore) |
| Cinematography: | James Wilson |
| Editing: | Erwin Reiner |
| Studio: | Shaftesbury Films |
| Distributor: | Anglo-American Film Corporation |
| Runtime: | 83 minutes |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
The Butler's Dilemma is a 1943 black-and-white British comedy film, directed by Leslie S. Hiscott and starring Richard Hearne in a dual role as Rodney Playfair and a Butler called Chapman, Ronald Shiner as Ernie, Ian Fleming, Francis L. Sullivan, Judy Kelly and Hermione Gingold.[1] It was produced by Elisabeth Hiscott, Graham Cutts for Shaftesbury Films, and filmed at British National Studios.[1]
A group of friends undertakes a number of deceptions in order to stage an illicit gambling party. Wimpish Rodney Playfair is persuaded, by a promise to erase his gambling debts, to impersonate an old manservant named Chapman for a few weeks in order to unwittingly provide an alibi for an accomplished thief. Hearne's dual role alternates between him playing the timid young Playfair, (in effect Hearne playing his real age) and the doddery butler 'Chapman', who is 'Mr Pastry' in all but name (Mr Pastry is a comic character that Hearne played on television).
TV Guide gave the film two out of five stars, calling it, "Terribly tepid."[2]