Ten Who Dared (1960)

(SPOILERS AHEAD!)

Ten Who Dared has a reputation for being one of the worst films Walt Disney ever made! Even famed Disney/animation/film historian Leonard Maltin uttered the same sentiments!

Directed by William Beaudine, Ten Who Dared tells the true story of the Powell Geographic Expedition of 1869 wherein American geologist, John Wesley Powell, took nine other men to explore and make a map of the Colorado River and the region surrounding it.

John Beal plays the geologist in the film and the other nine members of his expedition are played by Brian Keith, James Drury, R. G. Armstrong, Ben Johnson, L.Q. Jones, Dan Sheridan, David Stollery, Stan Jones, and recent centenarian, David Frankham.

The film showcases their expedition down the river while dealing with trials such as a capsized boat, loss of equipment, loss of food, and the men’s conflicting personalities. The film also does a relatively good job (to my little understanding) of staying true enough to the events as they occurred! For example, there’s a scene near the end of the film where the group breaks into two groups. And I was pleasantly surprised that the film stayed true to depicting which men remained in which group!

And much to my surprise (and everyone else’s I’m sure), I found myself really liking this film! Maybe because my expectations were so low, I was able to enjoy this film more than I anticipated! I didn’t think it was anywhere near as bad as others have made it out to be; I’ve definitely seen worse live-action Disney films of that era!

I genuinely liked these ten men and wanted to get to know them better! They all felt like real characters with props going out to the actors who portrayed them! Brian Keith’s character in particular was one who kinda fluctuated between being adored and being disliked.  John Beal’s character did his best to keep his team together. James Drury’s character went through an interesting arc as a Yankee who learns to get over his hatred of Southerners. David Frankham’s character is a bit of a bully, but then honorably takes responsibility for his actions.

I feel like a good remake of this film could be a very deep, impactful, and award-winning movie! Until then, I will stick with what we got.

So, my final score for this film is 25/35 = 71.43% (C-) !

The next review will be posted on May 12, 2026.