Three Desperate Men (1951)

Two brothers (Preston Foster, Jim Davis) are deputies in a small Texas town. When they hear their younger brother (Kim Spalding) is in a California jail for robbing a train, they go out there to clear his name. But their attempt to save him is a disaster when a guard is killed and they find themselves on the run from the law. Directed by Sam Newfield (TERROR OF TINY TOWN), this poverty row western is very loosely based on the Dalton brothers outlaw gang. It's hard to muster up much empathy for these men who are totally responsible for the pickle they're in and when they embrace the outlaw lifestyle, however reluctantly, there's zero sympathy. Even their own mother (Margaret Seddon) won't let them in the door. And when they use information told to them in confidence thus implicating an innocent woman (Virginia Grey) to rob a train, one hopes they get caught and get their just desserts. It's a short movie, about an hour and ten minutes, but a tedious "comic" scene involving Sid Melton as a telegraph worker stops the movie cold and could easily have been cut. With Monte Blue and Rory Mallinson.