I saw the movie (and thought it was very good).
There is a theme about ‘robbing from the rich to give to the poor,” and the conundrum that can be, during the Depression and all. The mobile librarian loans “Robin Hood” to someone with that concern.
However, the good guys in the movie are the ones who do not steal, but humble themselves, work hard, take in boarders, wear flour sack dresses, sell eggs, and still help others.
The bad guys are the thieves.
At the end, one of the bad guys realizes there is nothing moral about what she is doing, and repents.
So I think the synopsis this article provides is way off the mark.
She joined the gang to steal from the rich and give to the poor. She repented for keeping the loot, not for stealing. I think you missed the entire moral point of the movie. The thieves were caught and punished because they kept the loot. The black doctor hobo was put in the movie as a moral character - to give the justification for stealing. Why did they pick a black man for a one line role about stealing?