An asocial and enigmatic office clerk refuses to do his work, leaving it up to his boss to decide what should be done with him.An asocial and enigmatic office clerk refuses to do his work, leaving it up to his boss to decide what should be done with him.An asocial and enigmatic office clerk refuses to do his work, leaving it up to his boss to decide what should be done with him.
- Awards
- 1 win
- Doctor
- (as John Watson)
- Restaurant Patron
- (uncredited)
- Restaurant Patron
- (uncredited)
- Office Worker
- (uncredited)
- Office Worker
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe church steeple that can be seen through Bartleby's office window is that of St. Vedast alias Foster in the City of London.
- Quotes
The Accountant: Now, Bartleby, sit down. I want to check procedures for the Prebble Account and verify our results so far. With the three of us, it will be faster.
Bartleby: I don't feel I can. Just at the moment.
[he exits]
The Accountant: [the Accountant and Tucker have followed Bartleby to his office] What on Earth do you mean by this?
Bartleby: I would prefer not to say.
The Accountant: Prefer not to. What do you do mean, you prefer not to? Are you refusing to cooperate?
Bartleby: I prefer not to.
The Accountant: But. look here; this is normal practice, it's an excellent way to save work for both of you. You verify your work with the same stroke; kill two birds with one stone, as it were. Don't you?
Bartleby: I would not like to kill two birds with one stone.
The Accountant: It's simply common practice here. It's not unreasonable. Well?
The Accountant: [to Tucker] What do you think of it?
Tucker: I think he should do what you ask him to.
The Accountant: But am I unreasonable?
Tucker: No, Sir. Not at all. I think he's a bit round the bend.
The Accountant: You see, Bartleby, my demands are reasonable. This office isn't exactly a slave labour camp, is it?
[he chuckles hollowly]
The Accountant: Go and have lunch. Think about it.
- ConnectionsVersion of Bartleby (1976)
The weak link is John McEnery. A fine actor, he was a stand-out as Kerensky in "Nicholas and Alexandra" (and perhaps the only actor who wasn't swamped by the affair) and his Mercutio in "Romeo and Juliet" was more interesting than either Romeo or Juliet. But his Bartleby is too soft-spoken. I don't read Melville's Bartleby as being so apologetic when he says "I prefer not to." McEnery seems to want to strip any sort of emoting at all from his performance -- and that he comes so close proves that he is a fine actor -- and he comes off as merely bland, and Scofield acts him off the screen.
Gratuitous scenes of '60s folk on the street PERHAPS try to tie Bartleby in with the spirit of revolt, in his own way. But it that's what they meant, it doesn't seep through. The growing weirdness and sadness of Bartleby is diluted (for instance, by putting the dead letter office gag up front). McEnery's Bartleby is sad throughout and there's no explanation offered.
Though it doesn't quite capture the essence of Melville, it's worth watching for Scofield alone.
- vox-sane
- Feb 2, 2004
- How long is Bartleby?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Den tause duellen
- Filming locations
- Grimsby Street, Tower Hamlets, London, England, UK(The Accountant follows Bartleby to this street.)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 18 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1