Ten Who Died

Ten Who Dared 1960 

Ten Who Dared (1960) Working title The Colorado Experiment. (a better name in my opinion)

1869, a century before the landing on the moon, the Colorado River’, the final American Frontier. This is the voyage of the John Wesley Powell expedition. To map out the existing land of the American landscape. To boldly dare to go where no man has gone before.

As geologist Major John Wesley Powell is out exploring one day on the canyon walls of his historic trip, he happens to lose his footing and is left dangling from a rock ledge with his one good arm. Powel had lost his other arm in the civil war. He shouts for help and young Andrew Hall’s stowaway dog hears him and in true Lassie fashion leads the men to his rescue.  The Major was going to kill the dog, because you can’t have a dog on a historic trip down the Colorado river, but his cute doggy like manner caused him a change of heart. And now the dog returns the favor by leading his men to save his life. My wife remarked after watching this heartfelt scene, “The dog saved the guy, what could be more Disney then that’. In real life one of the men took off his underwear for the major to climb back up to solid ground on. That missed making it in the film but would have been interesting.

Its hard to know whether the source material works as an action adventure or not. It put my wife to sleep as we were watching it, and she usually likes history. Ten Who Dared is so amazingly bland, would a remake work with a better script. There was something off about it, but I can’t place my finger on it exactly. ‘Lost in the Grand Canyon’ from the TV series The American Experience, works fantastically in telling the story documentary style.

A lot of the added dramatic license tends to come across a little hokey, but interesting at the same time.  One of the boats crashes on the trip because of a dispute between an Englishman and the cook, a recovering alcoholic, who only goes by the name Missouri, over a smuggled supply of liquor.  The major’s brother, a survivor from the Andersonville prison camp resents the other member of the party who was a confidante during the war. They end up having a full blown smack down with each other as the other men watch and cheer. 

Bill Dunn, played by superstar Disney actor Brian Keith, is a wild crotchety ol guy who thinks it is fun to torment and tease rattlesnakes. He manages at one point to pick one up and trill it around. Later on he gets bite, no surprise there, and slows up the trip. The Major chews him out for it, but Dunn will have none of it. He is so peeved at being lectured for playing with snakes he throws away the water the Major gives him and asks someone else to get him a cup to relieve the thirst.

Overall the movie presents an interest in the real history behind the story rather then the story presented in the film. The transfer is not great. ‘Lost in the Grand Canyon’, is more interesting if you want to know the story without having to sit through this picture. Still if you are a Disney enthusiast, it is worth watching what is considered one of the worst Disney films ever made.

“This is another great selection from the Wonderful World of Disney TV series of yesteryear and not to be missed for all Disney fans. Though the DVD treatment of this title could have been given greater consideration from Disney, I am still happy to include it in my classic Disney collection.

Like the other studios, they just don't get it... people WANT to see these films again and will buy them - in some cases regardless of re-production results. Why they prefer to have them sitting in vaults gathering decay and dust is beyond me - especially when it is obvious there IS a market for them. Can someone please get Disney to open their eyes - they have nothing to lose and everything to gain.” - Michael Taylor Amazon Customer