Ada (1961)

Political drama about a honest but naive gubernatorial candidate who is manipulated by his corrupt campaign manager and is forced to temporarily cede power to his wife, a woman of integrity despite her shameful past.

Director:

Daniel Mann

Writers:

Arthur Sheekman, William Driskill

Stars:

Susan Hayward, Dean Martin, Wilfrid Hyde-White

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Susan Hayward	...	Ada Gillis
Dean Martin	...	Bo Gillis
Wilfrid Hyde-White	...	Sylvester Marin
Ralph Meeker	...	Colonel Yancey
Martin Balsam	...	Steve Jackson
Frank Maxwell	...	Ronnie Hallerton
Connie Sawyer	...	Alice Sweet
Ford Rainey	...	Speaker
Charles Watts	...	Al Winslow
Larry Gates	...	Joe Adams
Robert S. Simon	...	Warren Hatfield
Bill Zuckert	...	Harry Davers (as William Zuckert)

Storyline

Bo Gillis is running for Governor. Steve writes the speeches, Sylvester runs the campaign and Bo plays the guitar. Everything is going according to the plan until a hooker named Ada is setup with Bo one night. Even with her past, Bo decides to marry her, much to the astonishment of everyone. After the election, she has a created bio and is very adept at handling people. Bo Gillis, as Governor, finds that he has little influence as Sylvester runs the whole operation. Bo's function is only to sign what is given to him. But while Bo is weak and fails to push his reforms, Ada is strong and adept at doing what is best for Bo and her.

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Plot Keywords:

politician | political corruption | soap opera | based on novel | character name as title | 

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Taglines:

Behind-the-scenes story of a fabulous woman!

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The governor's car, which is blown up, but seen later intact, is a 1939 LaSalle 4-door sedan.

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Goofs

The story takes place in the mid-to-late 1930s, but all of Susan Hayward's hair styles and costumes, as well as those of the other female members of the cast, are strictly 1961.

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Quotes

Bo Gillis: You must have been a tough little girl.
Ada Gillis: I'm a tough big one, too.

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Connections

Featured in Sunset Over Mulholland Drive (2019)

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Soundtracks

May the Lord Bless You Real Good
Written by Warren Roberts and Wally Fowler

User Reviews

ADA Review

I had trouble naming my review and I guessing they had a time trying to name this movie thus Ada will have to do for us both. I like Susan Hayworth and she has predictable acting and facial expressions in all her work. It doesn't lack here and she delivers. On Dean Martin, I appreciate his trying to enter into drama and westerns but I could never get used to him doing so. He doesn't have the depth and the acting skills to pull it off. His fame, wealth and power allowed him opportunities to be sure but that is about it. The story itself is interesting from this point of view. Who doesn't like a rags to riches or an underdog becoming a top dog especially it they are a good soul. That is the case here. Susan pulls it off. However Dean further distracted me when I watched him run for office and playing guitar songs to win people over. At this point, I was ready to pull-out but a strange thing happened. The story appeared and it is an interesting one. Human nature does not disappoint and here we get a generous portion of greed, underhand-ness, corruption, scheming and for those that like decent endings comeuppance visits and gives us closure making it satisfying for the viewer and for the actors to say they earned their pay. I recommend a movie snack of your choice and a tasty drink and stay with this until it clicks. It will and it is worth it as the viewer is forced to become involved and choose sides thus emotions are engaged. It is called in the movie parlance "entertainment". You will be

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 August 1961 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ada Dallas

Filming Locations:

California State Capitol, Capitol Park, Sacramento, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Avon Productions (II), Chalmar Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1