Sounds like A Touch of Larceny (1959) which starred James Mason as the civil servant. I remember a scene where he is holding out on a Scottish island and makes a feeble attempt to alert a passing boat, hoping it won't really see him.
A junior civil servant (MOD?) logs out a "secret" file, drops it behind a filing cabinet and then goes on a sailing holiday to Scotland. He wrecks the boat and after a few weeks is accused of absconding with the file. He returns, locates the file and sues for slander.
Any ideas as to the title of the B&W film??
Sounds like A Touch of Larceny (1959) which starred James Mason as the civil servant. I remember a scene where he is holding out on a Scottish island and makes a feeble attempt to alert a passing boat, hoping it won't really see him.