3 Godfathers (1948)

A trio of bank robbers escapes into the desert, hotly pursued by the sheriff. Along the way, they come across a mother-to-be whose husband left for help but has surely perished before finding any. Just prior to dying, the new mother extracts a promise from the three men -- whom she has named her child's godfathers -- that they will protect her son. Even though that means they will be unlikely to evade capture, they all take their promise seriously.

It's a charmer of a story: one of those where you wind up rooting for the "bad" guys while still respecting the side of right.

B