The Desperado on AllMovie

The third of four Wayne Morris B-westerns for Allied Artists, Desperado casts Morris as fugitive gunman Sam Garrett. The early reels are devoted to Tall Cameron (James Lydon) and Ray Novac (Rayford Barnes), who run afoul of the post-Civil War Texas State Police, as represented by sadistic Captain Thornton (Nestor Paiva). Escaping Thornton's wrath, Tall and Ray meet Garrett, who becomes Tall's friend and advisor when Ray proves to be a louse. Seeking revenge, Ray kills Thornton and frames Tall for the crime. Sympathetic sheriff Jim Langley (Dabbs Greer) joins forces with "friendly enemy" Garrett to clear Tall and mete out just desserts to Ray. Beverly Garland costars as a more resourceful heroine than one usually finds in westerns of this nature. Though hamstrung by a low budget, Desperado is an intellingently written, well-paced endeavor.