Best movies like Shirley

In the mid-80s, three women (each with an attorney) arrive at the office of New York entertainment manager, Morris Levy. One is an L.A. singer, formerly of the Platters; one is a petty thief from Philly; one teaches school in a small Georgia town. Each claims to be the widow of long-dead doo-wop singer-songwriter Frankie Lyman, and each wants years of royalties due to his estate, money Levy has never shared. During an ensuing civil trial, flashbacks tell the story of each one's life with Lyman, a boyish, high-pitched, dynamic performer, lost to heroin. Slowly, the three wives establish their own bond.

The story of the late jazz musician and classical pianist Nina Simone including her rise to fame and relationship with her manager Clifton Henderson.

"Notorious" is the story of Christopher Wallace. Through raw talent and sheer determination, Wallace transforms himself from Brooklyn street hustler (once selling crack to pregnant women) to one of the greatest rappers of all time: The Notorious B.I.G. Follow his meteoric rise to fame and his refusal to succumb to expectations - redefining our notion of "The American Dream."

Chronicles Whitney Houston's rise to fame and turbulent relationship with husband Bobby Brown.

Pop star Christopher Wilde has fame, fortune and a big-budget Hollywood movie awaiting him. But after meeting Jessica Olson, a down-to-earth girl from the Midwest, he is faced with following his heart or doing what's best for his career.

Biography of Loretta Lynn, a country and western singer that came from poverty to fame.

After being gone for a decade, a country star returns home to the love he left behind.

Jess Robin dreams of a career in popular music, but his father, Cantor Rabinovitch, forbids it, insisting Jess live as a traditional Jew and inherit his position at the synagogue. With the help of friend and professional musician Bubba, Jess gets a chance to go to Los Angeles and have famous singer Keith Lennox record one of his songs. Defying both his father and his wife, Jess leaves New York to pursue his dreams.

A famous horror writer finds inspiration for her next book after she and her husband take in a young couple.

A girl on the road to stardom fights the dehumanizing effects of Hollywood life.

Loosely based biography of 1930s star Jean Harlow as she begins her climb to stardom. One of two "Harlow" film biographies that appeared in 1965, this one stars Carol Lynley in the title role that begins as Jean Harlow, a bit player in Laurel and Hardy comedies, is invited to test for director Jonathan Martin for the lead in Howard Hughes's "Hell's Angels." She is an instantaneous sensation, and in a series of films devoted more to her body than her talent, she becomes Hollywood's "Platanum Blonde."

Musical prodigy, Sparkle struggles to become a star while overcoming issues that are tearing her family apart. From an affluent Detroit area and daughter to a single mother, she tries to balance a new romance with music manager Stix while dealing with the unexpected challenges her new life will bring as she and her two sisters strive to become a dynamic singing group during the Motown-era.

In the aftermath of the terrible Civil War which has devastated the South, Amanda America Dixon returns home to find she has become the sole heir to a vast cotton plantation. But the dreadful secret which has blighted her life threatens to deprive her of the birthright which her beloved father David had struggled for so long to create. Raised by her father and grandmother to be the perfect white Southern Belle, Amanda's true mother was a black slave Julia. Confronted with the forces of greed and bigotry, Amanda has to face not only the hatred of a racist world, but the complex truth of a family whose lives have been built on a lie.

A Louisiana juke joint owner loses her star entertainer and hires a white singer to fill in.

A recent widow invites her husband's troubled best friend to live with her and her two children. As he gradually turns his life around, he helps the family cope and confront their loss.

In this biographical drama, Selena Quintanilla is born into a musical Mexican-American family in Texas. Her father, Abraham, realizes that his young daughter is talented and begins performing with her at small venues. She finds success and falls for her guitarist, Chris Perez, who draws the ire of her father. Seeking mainstream stardom, Selena begins recording an English-language album which, tragically, she would never complete.

Flame in the Streets is a 1961 British drama film directed by Roy Ward Baker. Racial tensions manifest themselves at home, work and on the streets during Bonfire Night in the burgeoning West Indian community of early 1960s Britain. Trades union leader (Mills) fights for the rights of a black worker but struggles with the news that his own daughter is planning to marry a West Indian, much against his own logic and the prejudice of his wife.

A British family is trapped between culture, tradition, and the colonial sins of the past.

In his early twenties, Sam Cagnina, oldest son of a Mafia hit man, meets Steven, a handsome 19-year old college student and they fall in love. Then, after a few years Sam offers Steven a "visionary" idea. What if they could find a woman who would fall in love with both of them and agree to live in a "trio" relationship? They spend the next 7 years dating and looking for that special woman. Finally, they meet Samantha, a young, struggling actress. THREE OF HEARTS explores this very unique trio union as they negotiate their living arangements, fall in love and open one of the hottest wellness centres in New York City. Everyone who comes in contact with them is never quite sure how the relationship works. But the one thing which seems certain is their love for each other.

With the help of her mother, family, friends, and fellow musicians, Aiyana Elliott reaches for her father, legendary cowboy troubadour, Ramblin' Jack Elliott. She explores who he is and how he got there, working back and forth between archival and contemporary footage. Born in 1932 in Brooklyn, busking through the South and West in the early 50s, a year with Woody Guthrie, six years flatpicking in Europe, a triumphant return to Greenwich Village in the early 60s, mentoring Bob Dylan, then life on the road, from gig to gig, singing and telling stories. A Grammy and the National Medal of Arts await Jack near the end of a long trail. What will Aiyana find for herself?

The incredible true story of how an orphaned Jamaican baby, adopted by an elderly white couple and brought up in an all white area of London, became one of the most feared and respected men in Britain.

Manchester, North of England, 1975. The now much diminished, but still dysfunctional, Khan family continues to struggle for survival. Sajid, the youngest Khan is deep in pubescent crisis under heavy assault both from his father's tyrannical insistence on Pakistani tradition, and from the fierce bullies in the schoolyard. So, in a last, desperate attempt to 'sort him out', his father decides to pack him off to Mrs Khan No 1 and family in the Punjab, the wife and daughters he had abandoned 35 years earlier.

When his unmarried mother dies, custody of 13-year-old Job is assumed by his alleged father, Chris, whom he has never seen. Job is an enthusiastic cadet at a military academy, and Chris turns out to be a top-grossing rock star who removes Job from his beloved school to keep him company on tour. Getting acquainted is fraught with culture shock for both father and son. Written by Paul Emmons

The Mambo Kings tells the story of César and Nestor Castillo, brothers and aspiring musicians who flee from Cuba to America in search of the American Dream.

In the lush tradition of the glorious films of Merchant and Ivory, comes the true life story of Leonie Gilmour (Emily Mortimer), whose life crossed continents, wars and cultures, embodied with courage and passion in search of art and freedom. A tender and inspiring story of a remarkable woman who nurtures the amazing artistic talent of her son who has only one way to succeed and one person to guide him, as he grows into the world renown artist, Isamu Noguchi.

The story of singer Rosemary Clooney's rise to fame, her marriage to Jose Ferrer, and her nervous breakdown.

Details the lives of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, from before their first meeting to their rise to stardom.

The film spans from Hepburn's early childhood to the 1950s which details her life as a Dutch ballerina, coming to grips with her parents' divorce, and enduring life in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands during World War II. She then settles in the U.S. where she succeeds in making it big as a movie actress, in such movies as Breakfast at Tiffany's.

In the Lifetime® movie, THE FANTASIA BARRINO STORY: LIFE IS NOT A FAIRYTALE, a single teenage mother overcomes all odds - sexual abuse, poverty and illiteracy - by relying on her spectacular singing voice. She ultimately gains national prominence as the winner of a hit talent show. Fantasia Barrino plays herself in this modern true Cinderella story. Also starring Loretta Devine, Kadeem Hardison and Viola Davis.

Holly has everything it takes to be a star; the voice, the dream and the dedication, but she lacks the means to break away from her humble Texas upbringing. Then she gets the chance to attend an art and music school on the East coast and her future suddenly looks bright. But the road to stardom is a bumpy one.

Country singer Leana Taylor (Dolly Parton) struggles to escape from her controlling manager/boyfriend Hank (John Terry) as well as her troubled past. After turning to her guitarist (Billy Dean), Leanna finally faces her past, including her estranged mother and the death of her father. Through flashbacks, Leana deals with her past as she attempts to move her life forward and begin a recording career.

A poignant biography of one of the most successful and wildly-read writers of the 20th century. Her stories enthralled children everywhere but her personal struggles often proved too much.

A film about the early life of the rock musician and his burgeoning career as a member of the Beatles.

A female singing group from the '60s reunites for a TV special.

An aspiring artist and college senior is throwing the biggest party of the year. The seniors arrive at the party not knowing that they are all key players in a social experiment that will change everything.