Best movies like Joan Crawford: Always the Star

A unique, carefully handpicked, selection of the best movies like Joan Crawford: Always the Star Starring Joan Crawford, Cliff Robertson, Bob Thomas, Vincent Sherman, and more. If you liked Joan Crawford: Always the Star then you may also like: Untamed, The Wager, West Point, With Babies and Banners: Story of the Women's Emergency Brigade, Not Only But Always and many more popular movies featured on this list. You can further filter the list even more or get a random selection from the list of similar movies, to make your selection even easier.

Glamorous and hugely popular Joan Crawford raised herself from brutal poverty to Academy Award-winning stardom by guts, determination and hard work. During her fifty-year career, she made over eighty films. But her obsessive perfectionism led to the later caricature of coat-hanger-wielding harridan that even the adoration of fans could not counter. Still, she has endured as one of the most popular icons of the movies, an early role model to a million young women who aspired to her image of stylish magnetic power and unquestioned independence.

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Untamed

In her first Talkie, Joan Crawford plays Bingo, a jungle-raised oil heiress, who turns Manhattan upside down in her hunt for Andy McAllister, the man of her dreams. Unfortunately for Bingo, Andy is penniless and refuses to agree to the match until he can provide for the wild, rich girl. Andy's prideful position is more than encouraged by Bingo's Uncle Ben, who seeks to scuttle their love match.

The Wager

An actor at the pinnacle of his Hollywood career finds himself buckling to temptation after he accepts the lead in a classic tale of good versus evil. Michael Steele has just been nominated for Best Actor at the Academy Awards. In the wake of that announcement, Michael is cast in what may be the role of a lifetime. He's set to play the lead in an incredible story of monumental conflict, but will all of the swirling gossip around Michael cause him to stumble on the path of righteousness? His marriage is in jeopardy and his career is on the line. This man who has always tried to do the right thing must find the courage and conviction needed to set his life straight.

West Point

Arrogant and wise-cracking Brice Wayne enrolls at the United States Military Academy at West Point and adjusts to life as a plebe. He tries out for the plebe football team, where he excels and shows up the varsity team. However, his ego is unrivaled, especially in competition with upperclassman Bob Sperry. At the same time, Brice meets a local girl named Betty Channing who cheers for him at football practices.

With Babies and Banners: Story of the Women's Emergency Brigade

With Babies and Banners: Story of the Women's Emergency Brigade is a 1979 documentary film directed by Lorraine Gray about the General Motors sit-down strike in 1936–1937 that focuses uniquely on the role of women using archival footage and interviews. It provides an inside look at women's roles in the strike. The film was one of the first to put together archival footage with contemporary interviews of participants and helped spur a series of films on left and labor history in the US utilizing this technique. The film was also important in helping bring into view the history of American women being active in the public sphere, particularly in union and labor actions. The film was, further, ground breaking because it was produced and directed by women. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Not Only But Always

The story of the working and personal relationship between the comedians Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, a hugely popular duo in the UK during the 1960s and 1970s. Focusing primarily on Cook, the film traces the pair from their first meeting through their career as part of the Beyond the Fringe review, their television series Not Only... But Also and various other projects before their later estrangement as Moore became a successful Hollywood film star and Cook remained in the UK.

The Oscar

An amoral lowlife accidentally stumbles into an acting career that sets him on a trajectory to Hollywood stardom. But everyone on whom he steps on the way to the top remembers when he is nominated for an Oscar and he runs a dirty campaign in an attempt to win.

The Romance of Celluloid

Several behind the scenes aspects of the movie-making business, which results in the enjoyment the movie going public has in going to the theater, are presented. They include: the production of celluloid aka film stock, the materials used in the production of which include cotton and silver; construction crews who build sets including those to look like cities, towns and villages around the world; a visit with Jack Dawn who demonstrates the process of creating a makeup design; the screen testing process, where many an acting hopeful gets his/her start; the work of the candid camera man, the prying eyes behind the movie camera; a visit with Adrian, who designs the clothes worn by many of the stars on screen; and a visit with Herbert Stothart as he conducts his musical score for Conquest (1937). These behind the scenes looks provide the opportunity to get acquainted with the cavalcade of MGM stars and their productions that will grace the silver screen in the 1937/38 movie season.

Rose-Marie

Sergeant Malone of the Mounties and effeminate Etienne Doray are both in love with Rose-Marie, but she doesn't light up until soldier of fortune Jim Kenyon drifts into the post. Soon Jim is accused of murder but he escapes.

James Dean: The First American Teenager

Stacy Keach narrates this documentary that chronicles the abbreviated life and career of iconic brooding bad boy James Dean, from his obscure early days working in television to his rise to stardom in films such as Rebel Without a Cause. Clips from Dean's movies are intermingled with candid interviews with the star's friends and Hollywood colleagues, including Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, Sammy Davis Jr. and Dennis Hopper.

Jenny is a Good Thing

Jenny is a Good Thing is a 1969 American short documentary film about children and poverty, directed by Joan Horvath. Produced by Project Head Start, it shows the importance of good nutrition for underprivileged nursery school children. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.

Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work

A documentary on the life and career of Joan Rivers, made as the comedienne turns 75 years old.

Blind Date

A young woman is torn between a wealthy suitor who wants her body and the honest young man who wants what's best for her.

Daisy Winters

An eleven year-old girl's unconventional yet deeply loving relationship with her mother is harshly broken. Along her journey, including her quest to discover her father, she learns how to embrace every moment with determination and unrelenting self-confidence.

The Bride Wore Red

A poor singer in a bar masquerades as a rich society woman thanks to a rich benefactor.

Tramp, Tramp, Tramp

A poor cobbler's son enters a $25,000 cross-country hiking contest sponsored by the footwear company that has nearly bankrupted his father. He also has fallen in love with the girl on the company's billboards, the competition's daughter, and her sweet inspiration keeps him tramping along.

Tinker'

A hermit farmer discovers his late father's secret journal containing plans to a magnetic powered machine that could change the world, while unexpectedly becoming custodian of his gifted 6 year old nephew, after his mom's untimely death.

Lady of the Night

The story of two baby girls, born near in proximity but worlds apart in society: Molly Helmer, the daughter of a thief, and Florence Banning, the daughter of the judge who sent Molly's father to prison. The girls' lives come together as they reach the age of eighteen, when Florence leaves the security of the exclusive Girls Select School, and Molly, now orphaned, begins her life after reform school.

The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter

Documentary about women's experiences of labour, in factories, mines and dockyards, in the USA during the second World War and how it affected their work and career aspirations once they were encouraged to give up such employment in peacetime.

Possessed

Marion is a factory worker who hopes to trade the assembly line, for a beautiful penthouse apartment. Mark Whitney, a wealthy and influential lawyer can make her dreams come true, but there is only one problem, he will give her everything but a marriage proposal. Will this affair ever lead to marriage?

Possessed

After being found wandering the streets of Los Angeles, a severely catatonic woman tells a doctor the complex story of how she wound up there.

Spring Fever

Kelly's employer, Waters, is such a keen golfer that he asks Kelly to help him improve his game at an exclusive country club.

Stardom

A young girl is plucked from small-town obscurity and thrust into the spotlight of the glamorous world of super-models.

Sudden Fear

Actor Lester Blaine has all but landed the lead in Myra Hudson's new play when Myra vetoes him because, to her, he doesn't look like a romantic leading man. On a train from New York to San Francisco, Blaine sets out to prove Myra wrong...by romancing her. Is he sincere, or does he have a dark ulterior motive?

The Damned Don't Cry

Fed up with her small-town marriage, a woman goes after the big time and gets mixed up with the mob.

Dance, Fools, Dance

When misfortune hits hard on the Jordan family of Chicago's upper class, Bonnie Jordan, a dazzling and witty girl, finds a job as an aspiring reporter; however, his naive younger brother Rodney takes a twisted path and gets involved with the wrong people.

Kicks

Nicole is an introverted Liverpudlian teenager, all but deserted by her parents, with a mother distractedly working nights and a father who has settled with a new family elsewhere. She spends time hanging around the gates of Anfield and the Melwood training ground, desperate for a glimpse of her idol, the star midfielder Lee Cassidy. She Meets aspirant WAG Jasmine, who is from an affluent family, more glamorous and streetwise, yet the girls' shared adoration to Cassidy lead them to bond instantly. They trawl the city and its nightspots, fantasizing about a time when they might have Lee for themselves, yet when the news breaks that the footballer is a transfer target for Real Madrid, they take drastic action to prevent him leaving.

Dream Girls

This film is about Japanese women, escape, glamour and dreams. The Takarazuka Revue is an enormously successful spectacular where the all-women cast create fantasies of erotic love and sensitive men. It is also a world for young girls desperate to do something different with their lives. In return for living a highly disciplined and reclusive existence, they will be adored and envied by many thousands of Japanese women. They will look, act and behave like young men while having no real men in their lives. Dream Girls explores the nature of sexual identity and the contradictory tensions that face young women in Japan today.

My Breakfast with Blassie

My Breakfast with Blassie is a movie starring Andy Kaufman and professional wrestler "Classy" Freddie Blassie. It is a mostly improvised parody of the popular art film My Dinner with Andre and is set in a restaurant where Kaufman and Blassie have a discussion over breakfast. Also featured is Kaufman's partner Bob Zmuda, who plays a nosy fan. Lynne Margulies, who would later become Kaufman's girlfriend, also plays a role; in fact, she and Kaufman met for the first time on camera.

Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star

In this documentary on the life of Joan Crawford, we learn why she should be remembered as the great actress she was, and not only as "mommie dearest." caricature she has become. Friends, fellow actors, directors, and others reminisce about their association with her, and numerous film clips show off her talent from her start in silents to bad science fiction/horror movies at the end of her career.

Star Dust

When Hollywood film studios reject her because she's too young, an Arkansas woman sets out to build a career as an actress on her own.

The Law of the Range

Jim Lockhart is out to capture the robbing and murdering "Solitaire Kid".

Still Kicking

Still Kicking: William Shatner and 'Christopher Plummer' is a one-hour television special that captures the memories and insights of these two icons. The setting is the stage of the renowned Stratford Shakespeare Festival Stage, where both men launched their careers in the 1950s, and were then propelled to international stardom. Both continue to produce incredible work. Plummer earned an Academy Award in 2012 for his performance in Beginners. He recently wrote a best-selling autobiography, and will soon be returning to the stage of the Stratford Festival for the theatre's 60th anniversary season. Shatner won four Emmys for his portrayal of Denny Crane on Boston Legal, and also recently wrote a best-selling book, and currently has an amazing four television series on air.

Mary Tyler Moore: A Celebration

Not only did Mary Tyler Moore “turn the world on with her smile,” as her show’s theme song declared, she also influenced a generation of women to become more independent and to pursue successful and fulfilling careers. Moore’s own 50-plus-year career has spanned award-winning films and Broadway shows, as well as two beloved television series that broke ground and continue to entertain viewers. ​ This one-hour special includes highlights from a recent interview with Mary Tyler Moore, tributes from her co-stars and clips from iconic moments throughout her career. The program looks at her breakthrough role on The Dick Van Dyke Show, her iconic turn as TV's first independent career woman on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and her Academy Award-nominated work on Ordinary People.

The Boob

To impress the girl he loves, a naive country boy tries to capture a group of local bootleggers.

Life Is a Circus

Encompassing three hugely popular double acts, The Crazy Gang were one of Britain's best-loved, most enduring variety troupes – their antics delighting audiences for over three decades from the early 1930s and their career taking in numerous Royal Command performances. Their efforts to save a struggling circus provide the laughs in this uproarious comedy, also starring Goldfinger icon Shirley Eaton and featuring Flanagan and Allen's rendition of their greatest hit, Underneath the Arches. The Crazy Gang have been jacks-of-all-trades with Joe Winter's Monster Circus for almost as long as Joe has been on the road, and they're still hoping for a big break. But Joe has hit hard times: his equipment is mortgaged, most of his acts have deserted him and even the elephants have walked out. So the Gang set about finding a way to save the circus... and come up with a typically novel solution!

A Slave of Fashion

Katherine Emerson, an Iowa girl hungry for the good things in life, leaves her small hometown and sets out for New York. En route, she is involved in a train wreck in which another woman is killed. Katherine finds the woman's purse and, among its contents, discovers an invitation for the woman to spend 6 months in an unoccupied luxury apartment in Manhattan. Katherine seizes this opportunity and sets up housekeeping in the elegant suite, living well and dressing in the newest fashions.

Kris Kristofferson: His Life and Work

Interviews with celebrities such as Joan Baez, Jackson Browne, Dennis Hopper and Willie Nelson examine the remarkable career of actor-performer Kris Kristofferson, who successfully bridged the gap between Hollywood and Nashville. From his mastery of the "New Nashville" sound on his 1972 album "Jesus Was a Capricorn" to his role in the 1974 film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Kristofferson has shown an agility that's hard to match.

The Best of Everything

An exposé of the lives and loves of Madison Avenue working girls and their higher-ups.

Stand-Ins

Six women who came to Hollywood with the dream of becoming famous find themselves working as stand-ins for the glamorous stars of the late 1930s. Gathering for a birthday celebration at their local watering hole, they introduce a new member to the group – instigating a turn of events that will change their lives forever.

Hindsight

Things heat up when a promising young actor begins an affair with a glamorous model in order to advance his career.

Career Girl

Young attractive blonde arrives in Hollywood looking for a career in the movies.

Manhattan Cocktail

Nancy Carroll stars in Manhattan Cocktail as Babs, a college coed who dreams of becoming a famous actress. Joining up with her campus chums Fred (Richard Arlen) and Bob (Danny O'Shea), likewise aspiring thespians, Babes heads to Broadway with stars in her eyes. The winsome threesome are quickly disillusioned by the heartless machinations of nasty producer Renov (Paul Lukas) and his harridan wife (Lilyan Tashman). Before the plot proper gets under way, the audience is regaled with a cute "mythological" prologue, featuring the same three leading actors. Manhattan Cocktail was a silent picture, except for two brief musical numbers showcasing Nancy Carroll.

Paris

The power of love in the violent underground world of the Apaches in Paris in the early 20th century.

Twelve Miles Out

Jerry always wins in his rivalry with Red over women, gunrunning, and diamond smuggling. While running booze into the U.S. during Prohibition, Jerry seizes Jane's seaside home. When she tries to turn him in, he kidnaps her and her fiance John. Jane, now in love with Jerry, must watch as Jerry and Red shoot it out on board Jerry's boat.

Kathleen Mavourneen

A hugely popular, much-adapted comedy in which a Liverpool lass visits family in rural Ireland and finds she has several rivals for her affections

Bread

Bread is a socially engaged drama which follows the fate of a woman struggling to pull herself out of poverty as she’s ruthlessly exploited by a string of men.

The Midshipman

Produced under the supervision of the U.S. Navy. James Randall, an upperclassman at the Naval Academy, falls in love with Patricia Lawrence, the sister of a plebe. She is engaged to Basil Courtney, a wealthy reprobate who arranges with Rita to discredit James.

Youssou Ndour: I Bring What I Love

Senegalese pop sensation Youssou Ndour has spent the last 20 years in the spotlight as a world-renowned musician and the iconic representative "voice of Africa." At the height of his career, Youssou became frustrated by the negative perception of his Muslim faith and composed Egypt, a deeply spiritual album dedicated to a more tolerant view of Islam. The album's brave musical message was wholeheartedly embraced by Western audiences but ignited serious religious controversy in his homeland of Senegal. The film chronicles the difficult journey Youssou must undertake to assume his true calling.

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