I saw this one on tv probably in the seventies, so details are sketchy. As I remember it, the title was a man’s first name, like ‘Martin’ or ‘Patrick’, almost certainly British and is about a thin oddball young fella who has a job at a company and manages to get on the wrong side of just about everyone because he lacks social skills and wants to be left alone. He frequently uses the phrase “I would prefer….” I think at one point he starts to sleep overnight on the premises because he has no home to go to. When asked why he doesn’t fire him, his boss acknowledges that he’s a problem but says “He’s so damned civil”.
Check out “Bartleby” (2001): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartleby_(2001_film)
You said it was an oldie. I remembered there was a version ( a tv movie I believe ) from the 1970’s and I looked for it on IMDB. Turns out there’s multiple versions. The 1970 and 1976 ones appear to be British productions which would account n for the British accents. Turns out the one I thought was from the early 70’s was a 1969 version with a pre-Brady Bunch Barry Williams in a small part as the office boy. Link of list below, you may have to click “More Title Matches” to get full list.
https://www.imdb.com/find?q=bartleby&ref_=nv_sr_sm
Thank you so much for your help. I’ve checked it out and It’s the 1970 version with Paul Schofield and John McEnery. The only downside is, Robin Askwith’s in it. I’m going to order the Blu-ray.
Good job BlackAdder! Solved!