Highest-Rated Movies about 'Rags To Riches', Sort by Popularity

Mayor of the Sunset Strip (2003), Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella (1997), Overnight (2003), This Sporting Life (1963), Easy Living (1937), The Five Heartbeats (1991), Les Misérables (1998), The Count of Monte Cristo (1934) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best Rags To Riches movies.

#16. The Barefoot Contessa (1954)

Storyline: At Maria Vargas' funeral, several people recall who she was and the impact she had on them. Harry Dawes was a not very successful writer/director when he and movie producer Kirk Edwards scouted her at a shabby nightclub where she worked as a flamenco dancer. He convinces her to take a chance on acting and her first film is a huge hit. PR man Oscar Muldoon remembers when Maria was in court supporting her father who was accused of murdering her mother. It was Maria's testimony that got him off and she was a bigger star than ever. Alberto Bravano, one of the richest men in South America, sets his sights on Maria and she goes off with him - as much to make Edwards angry as anything - but he treats her badly. When she meets Count Vincenzo Torlato-Favrini they fall deeply in love. They are married but theirs is not to be a happy life.—garykmcd

Plot Keywords: dancer, director, producer, tycoon, press agent, count, sad ...

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#17. The Idolmaker (1980)

Storyline: 1959. Twenty-seven year old Vinnie Vacarri works as a waiter at his older brother Mario's upscale Italian restaurant in Brooklyn, but much to Mario's chagrin, Vinnie lets work at the restaurant slide whenever opportunities arise to achieve his dream of being in the music business. Along with his best friend and music partner, pianist Gino Pilato, Vinnie writes songs, and believes he has everything but the most important thing to make it big, namely the look, he most self-conscious about his receding hairline. As such, he and Gino are looking for someone to perform their songs on their own terms. He thinks he's found the person in his friend Tomaso DeLorusso, a saxophonist who has been struggling himself in the club scene to find his niche. With Gino largely staying in the background, Vinnie begins a professional association with Tomaso, who he reinvents as rock singer Tommy Dee, this the beginning of Vinnie's foray into talent manager, he knowing the look and sound he wants, with his acts being the conduit to realize his own dreams of music business success. He also believes a sixteen year old shy busboy at Mario's restaurant named Guido Bevaloqua has the look to make it big, Guido who Vinnie transforms into Caesare. Along the way, Vinnie has convince others into his vision for the transformations to succeed, such people as Brenda Roberts, the editor of Teen Scene magazine. Ultimately both Vinnie and his acts get lost in their own personal issues, Tommy Dee and Caesare wanting primarily the trappings of fame forgetting how they got there, and Vinnie sacrificing his and everyone else's lives to achieve his visions that he could not achieve on his own.—Huggo

Plot Keywords: songwriter, singer, teen idol, girlfriend, spectacular, melodramatic, sultry ...

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#18. Johnny Cash's America (2008)

Storyline: This documentary combines archival footage and interviews to examine the life of one of music's most universal legends, Johnny Cash. The film recounts the events of Cash's life, from his poor beginnings to his celebrity and his battle with drugs. It also delves into how Cash addressed the issues of his day and evolved to be both a patriot and a social activist. Many famous fans of Cash, including figures as disparate as Bob Dylan, Al Gore and Snoop Dogg, discuss his legacy and influence.

Plot Keywords: musician, wife, father, richard nixon, inspiring, confident, fascinating ...

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#19. That Thing You Do! (1996)

Storyline: Recounts a fable of a pop rock band formed a year after the Beatles took America by storm in early 1964. Jazz aficionado Guy Patterson, unhappily toiling in the family appliance store, is recruited into the band the Oneders (later renamed the Wonders) after regular drummer Chad breaks his arm. After Guy injects a four/four rock beat into lead singer Jimmy's ballad, the song's undeniable pop power flings the Wonders into a brief whirlwind of success, telling the tale of many American bands who attempted to grab the brass ring of rock and roll in the wake of the British Invasion.

Plot Keywords: drummer, singer, manager, guitarist, girlfriend, musician, amusing ...

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#20. The Match King (1932)

Storyline: Unscrupulous Paul Kroll, starting as a Chicago janitor, uses graft to finance a trip to Sweden where by trickery he gains control of his uncle's small match factory. By expert manipulation of everyone and employment of femmes-fatale, he parlays this into a match monopoly, expanding over many countries. Finally he meets a woman so gorgeous she turns his head away from a business that needs constant financial manipulation to survive. Based on the real career of Ivar Kreuger.—Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>

Plot Keywords: immigrant, entrepreneur, actress, girlfriend, uncle, melodramatic, dark ...

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#21. Basquiat (1996)

Storyline: Basquiat tells the story of the meteoric rise of youthful artist Jean Michel Basquiat. Starting out as a street artist, living in Thompkins Square Park in a cardboard box, Basquiat becomes a star and a part of Andy Warhol's art world circle. But success has a price, and Basquiat pays with friendships, love, and eventually, his life.

Plot Keywords: painter, andy warhol, private investigator, art critic, drug addict, brash, gritty ...

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#22. Arabian Nights (1974)

Storyline: In this film inspired by the ancient erotic and mysterious tales of Mid-West Asia, the main story concerns an innocent young man who comes to fall in love with a slave who selected him as her master. After his foolish error causes their separation, he travels in search of her. Various other travelers who recount their own tragic and romantic experiences include stories of a young man who becomes enraptured by a mysterious woman on his wedding day, and a man who is determined to free a woman from a demon.—scgary66

Plot Keywords: slave, young man, king, wife, creative, playful, dense ...

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#23. One Chance (2013)

Storyline: Director David Frankel (The Devil Wears Prada, Marley and Me) teams with screenwriter Justin Zackham (The Bucket List) to tell the story of amateur opera singer Paul Potts (James Corden), who went from meek shop clerk to international superstar after his stunning performance on Britain's Got Talent became a viral video phenomenon..

Plot Keywords: best friend, opera singer, heartwarming, united kingdom, talent show, rags to riches, rise ...

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#24. The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964)

Storyline: Majestic mountains are in the background and a waterfall in the foreground. Is that a canoe on the river? No it's a cradle with a baby. The buoyant Molly Brown has survived the first crisis of her life -- a flood. Sixteen years later she sets out to make her way in the world. Can she sing and play the piano? She assures the Leadville saloon keeper that she can and learns quickly. Soon she is the bride of Johnny Brown, who in a few years will be able to replace the original cigar wrapper wedding ring with a replica in gold and gemstones. But it takes more than a few million dollars to be accepted by Denver society. The Browns head for Europe and bring a few crowned heads back to Denver for a party that turns into a ballroom brawl. Molly goes to Europe alone, returning on the Titanic. She didn't survive a flood as a baby for the story to end here.—Dale O'Connor <daleoc@interaccess.com>

Plot Keywords: orphan, prince, wife, miner, husband, brash, touching ...

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#25. Rose of Washington Square (1939)

Storyline: New York city in the 1920s: a singer struggles to keep her boyfriend from trouble. When she makes it to Ziegfeld, he heads for five years in jail. Lots of Faye and Jolson singing. The story is so close to the true story of Fanny Brice and Nicky Arnstein (Jules W. Arndt Stein) that he sued the studio in a case that was quickly settled out of court in his favor.—Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu>

Plot Keywords: singer, vaudevillian, gambler, wife, con artist, partner, hilarious ...

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#26. Middle Men (2009)

Storyline: Wayne Beering and Buck Dolby are drugged out geniuses with lots of ideas but they can never seem to get their act together. But when they come up with the idea to create a porn site - and charge for it (the first ever site to do so), their idea may be too lucrative for them to handle. Straight-laced business man, Jack Harris, is brought in to team up with them and turn their profitable idea into a legit business. Making money in the pornography industry is pretty easy, but staying true to yourself when surrounded by that much wealth, luxury, sex, crime and temptations, is much harder.

Plot Keywords: internet entrepreneur, best friend, amusing, thrilling, united states, wealth, internet videos ...

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#27. Jailhouse Rock (1957)

Storyline: Vince Everett is serving a one-year jail sentence for manslaughter. While in the big house, his cellmate, a former country singer, introduces him to the record business. Everett takes to it so well that he decides to become a singer when he gets out. However, he is quickly disillusioned by the record business. But with the help of a new friend, he decides to form his own label, and soon becomes an overnight sensation. But when he becomes a superstar, will his desire for fame and money cause him to forget the people who got him there?—<jgp3553@excite.com>

Plot Keywords: prisoner, rock star, beautiful woman, record producer, singer, cellmate, amusing ...

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#28. Annie (1982)

Storyline: In the depths of the 1930's, Annie is a fiery young orphan girl who must live in a miserable orphanage run by the tyrannical Miss Hannigan. Her seemingly hopeless situation changes dramatically when she is selected to spend a short time at the residence of the wealthy munitions industrialist, Oliver Warbucks. Quickly, she charms the hearts of the household staff and even the seemingly cold-hearted Warbucks cannot help but learn to love this wonderful girl. He decides to help Annie find her long lost parents by offering a reward if they would come to him and prove their identity. However, Miss Hannigan, her evil brother, Rooster, and a female accomplice, plan to impersonate those people to get the reward for themselves which put Annie in great danger.

Plot Keywords: orphan, billionaire, dog, bodyguard, manager, brother, charming ...

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