The World Ten Times Over (1963) User Reviews

Low key drama of a little interest

[Skint111 · 5/10 · 24 January 2010]

Here's an obscure British drama now available on DVD.

It is about two 'nightclub hostesses' aka prostitutes working in London. One has to deal with her dad (Hartnell, just before Dr Who) and the other a married businessman who's been having an affair with her.

The front cover of the DVD has Ritchie in bra, panties and stockings and suspenders but there's not a great deal of titillation here. It was an X back then and a 12 now. Her character is a little irritating; Sims gives the better performance here - there's meaning beneath those eyes.

This rather downbeat drama, with flashes of style, is lifted by extensive location shooting. For those who want to see 1963 London it's a treat. Particularly good is the scene where Hartnell walks through Soho amid the flashing neon lights advertising the sexy delights on show. He also walks past a film poster for West End Jungle.

The director did better than this (Village of the Damned) and worse. Now it's difficult to judge how ersatz it is.

Grim, low key but also quite watchable.

[alexanderdavies-99382 · 6/10 · 1 December 2018]

"The World Ten Times Over" was never to be the kind of film which would ensure box office success. The grim and stark plot are better suited to films which are granted limited releases. For 1963, it was quite daring to explore the topic of lesbianism in any depth. This is mainly a four cast production. Sylvia Sims, Edward Judd, June Ritchie and William Hartnell manage to produce fairly vivid performances. Judd was a good actor and should have progressed onto bigger things. In the above movie, he displays much vulnerability and feelings of despair as he struggles to get to grips with his life. His character faces a constant battle as he attempts to escape the clutches of his tyrannical father. June Ritchie plays the love interest to Judd, although theirs is a complicated union. Their scenes together are very effective. Sims and Hartnell are cast as daughter and father who are estranged from each other. They meet up for the first time in many years but have nothing in common and are too diverse in their political and social views. Even whilst attempting to socialize, it makes for a tense and awkward experience. Their brief reunion is laid to rest in a shattering climax. The way in which lesbianism is implied, is via the relationship between Sylvia Sims and June Ritchie. They share a flat in London and they have cultivated a good friendship - despite their being two troubled souls trying to make sense of their lives. Sims grows rather jealous of Ritchie being involved with a man (Judd) and hopes that it shall finish before long. She sees her flatmate as her own personal property. I enjoyed the scenes that show London's nightlife during 1963. The camera was hand held and you get the feeling that you yourself are there, amongst the masses. The grim premise does serve to partly defeat this film though, as there is no light relief of any kind.

Rather a disappointment

[malcolmgsw · 5/10 · 20 January 2023]

This film came in the middle of the British new wave,but the tide seems to have gone out with this film. One of the stars,June Ritichie started in A Kind of Living and William Hartnell in This Sporting Life.

The film is set in Soho,which was very popular at this time.

June Ritchie has problems with her married lover,Edward Kidd and Sylvia Simms has trouble either her strait laced father,played by Hartnell. Simms has to show him that she is in reality a hostess/prostitute. There were many better films about life in Soho. It is little wonder that this film has dwelt informal obscurity since it's original release.

"I was queen of the world ten times over".....

[ianlouisiana · 9/10 · 24 January 2018]

...says Ginnie (Miss J.Ritchie) in a childhood reminiscence to her fellow hostess Billa (MIss S.Sims). So there,in a blink or you'll miss it moment,the rather confusing title is explained. The rather less subtle "Pussy Cat Alley" was used in the U.S. Unfortunately it singularly failed to capture the public imagination in either guise and sank without trace for many years until rehabilitated by a change of sexual politics around the turn of the century. Now it is seen as a pioneering work in the "New Woman" genre where the main characters are presented as strong independent women who can get along without men very nicely thank you. Except they can't. Whichever way you look at it,as club hostesses they depend on men for a living. Ginnie has a rich boyfriend (Mr E. Judd) on whom she is financially dependent. Without him she will be almost literally on the streets. Billa is pregnant and in thrall to her father(Mr W.Hartnell) whose approval she fears may be at the very least somewhat grudging. They make a decision to bring up Billa's child on their own - and there was no way in 1963 that that was going to work. Set in a very grubby and lifelike Soho,"The world ten times over" also enters the milieu of the comparatively sophisticated comfortably - off, the would - be "Swinging London" set on the verge of dominating fashion,media and pop music. Sadly such hedonistic delights are beyond the reach of Ginnie and Billa. There are brilliant performances by Miss Ritchie and Miss Sims as women who are not sure what they want to be but sure as hell don't want to be what they are. In an England struggling to find itself torn between "Ban the Bomb" and "Keep Britain white" the story of two hostesses and their rather banal lives and sad problems is pretty small beer,but the acting and the direction put it to the front of the queue of British films made before the "New Wave" directors tried to confound us with their knavish tricks. .

to say the least grudging.

The "Swinging" Sixties

[lesallen-68268 · 8/10 · 6 May 2020]

Gritty is an overused word, but in the case of this black and white gem set in sixties London, it fulfils. The two young women making their way in the seedy metropolis come into contact with equally damaged male characters - the millionaire's son trying to escape the dominion of his father, and Bella's strait-laced school teacher father... This film certainly grips the atmosphere of the period and the casting is well honed... The thoughtful Bella and her slightly crazy flat mate, the downtrodden poor little rich kid, and the confused father all reveal their frailties and failings. I found it powerful and moving. This movie could have been made yesterday - the characters and their blighted city lives no less real almost six decades ago than today. A must see for students of dramatic theatre...