I haven't seen this one, so can't offer any suggestions, but...

Speaking of director William Wyler, he worked with all the heavyweights of the day (Myrna Loy, Olivia de Havilland, Montgomery Clift, Gregory Peck, Audrey Hepburn, Bogey...). Numbers-wise, in my movie ROI database I've got 7 titles directed by William Wyler which are collectively averaging a 76% TMDb rating, and collectively paid a solid ROI of $5.95 in box office revenue for each production budget dollar spent (compared to the $3.49 across all 3,173 titles in my dbase from 1915 to present). In short, with nothing else to go on, I'd give the benefit of the doubt to Wyler that there is story there that he developed somehow.

Movies back then could get convoluted, plot-wise (because people were generally more literary). People love movies like The Maltese Falcon and North by Northwest, and I still don't get either of them, so it must be me missing something.

Of course, simplicity could also carry the day. I've seen Roman Holiday and How to Steal a Million (directed by Wyler) and found them both delightful (of course, I just love Audrey Hepburn, so my bias likely kicks in, but not by much - RH is holding up a 79% rating here on TMDb and paid a delicious $8.00. (that said, HtSaM bombed, scrounging for $0.69, as, perhaps, by 1966, it was too simple in an increasingly complicated world and the grandiose ascent of the Bond franchise's raising the bar on action/adventure, but I digress).

And, speaking of "a dark turn from Bogart", if you haven't seen him in In A Lonely Place (1950), try to find it, he's spellbinding as the tragic Dixon Steele!

At any rate, if I find a way to watch The Desperate Hours and have anything material to speak to your original question, I'll certainly circle back!

DRD, I love your recommendations, even if I've seen most of them. Thanks for your input, and I'd like to read what you and others think of the film under discussion.

As for the criminals' motivation, never mind. They're on the lam after breaking out of prison.