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| Richard Arlen and Veda Ann Borg |
Private eye Simon Lash (Richard Arlen) gets a surprise visitor, Joyce (Veda Ann Borg), the woman who left him at the altar years before to marry a wealthy man. Now her husband is missing and Joyce wants Simon to track him down, although he is wary that this is merely a divorce case, which he wants no part of. Simon's investigation takes him to a mink farm, where he encounters the suspicious Sheriff Rucker (Archie Twitchell), along with a couple of bodies. Eventually the trail leads Lash to a mysterious castle in the desert (not to be confused with the Charlie Chan film of that name) where elderly men with shotguns have got an operation running that might put Lash in a bit of difficulty.
Accomplice is a fast-moving, interesting PI story, although towards the end it does get a little ridiculous. However, the acting is sharp, there are certainly interesting settings, and the action is all resolved in a satisfactory and exciting manner. Although Arlen makes a more than credible private eye, he was never to play Lash again.
Verdict: Entertaining PI flick from the forties. **3/4.
Veda Ann Borg! Have only seen her in small roles, but she is always memorable. I fondly remember Veda Ann as Veda Pierce's honky tonk coworker in Mildred Pierce (the Veda and Veda scene!) and just recently rewatched one of my favorites, I'll Cry Tomorrow, where she is that well-meaning cocktail waitress who pours alcoholic Susan Hayward a stiff drink to stop 'the shakes' and advises her to 'get a little flask or something.'
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-Chris
Years ago I had a friend who thought of Veda Ann Borg the way some people think of Judy Garland. Borg was his favorite actress and he wouldn't miss anything she was in. I like her, too. I always find her vivid in whatever she's in, usually playing tough gun moll types or cast-off girlfriends.
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