Ada (film)

Plot

Bo Gillis (Dean Martin) is a guitar-playing, young man from a Southern state who becomes a candidate for governor. He is elected after his opponent's wife is revealed to have a dark secret, a fact that Bo's campaign mastermind, Sylvester Marin (Wilfrid Hyde-White), makes sure becomes known to all.

Shortly before the election, Bo goes to a nightclub where he is introduced to Ada Dallas (Susan Hayward), a working girl. They share a similar upbringing, and Bo feels an immediate bond. They elope, much to the chagrin of the candidate's speechwriter Steve (Martin Balsam) and the cynical Sylvester, who wants the marriage annulled.

The Gillises resist and begin life as the state's first couple. Soon the governor finds that he is little more than a stooge, blindly signing whatever document Sylvester puts before him. His childhood friend Ronnie (Frank Maxwell) is dismissed as lieutenant governor for speaking out. Sylvester requests help from Ada in controlling her husband, but the state's ambitious first lady demands something quite outrageous in return: to be named the new lieutenant governor.

Bo is furious. He wanted Ada to be his refuge from dirty politics, not a part of it. He continues to oppose Sylvester's methods, which leads to a bomb's being placed in the governor's car. In the hospital, Bo tells Ada that he believes her to be a conspirator in his attack and insults her, causing her to angrily leave him.

Ada is sworn in as acting governor. Quickly, though, she goes to work against Sylvester, promoting her husband's ideas for honest government. On the day of a decisive vote at the state capitol, as Bo views from the gallery, Sylvester and his henchman Yancey (Ralph Meeker) try to sabotage Ada's plans by revealing evidence of her past as a prostitute. Bo speaks up on his wife's behalf. Sylvester is ruined, and Bo and Ada walk away from the capitol side by side.

Cast

Box Office

According to MGM records, the film lost $2,372,000.