Ada

If you're a fan of Susan Hayward this film has everything you need.

An old-fashioned melodrama with all the trimmings Susan rules over this with a velvet glove. She's a girl from "the wrong side of the tracks", a prostitute in a roadside honky tonk who makes the acquaintance of a dim hayseed one night. He has a way with a song and isn't clever enough to see that he is being used as a dim bulb stooge by a political machine to take him to the governor's mansion. The film offers nothing new on this age old chestnut but the presentation is what counts here.

A star vehicle to be sure slanted Susan's way much more than Dean's even though he gets a moment here and there. Spotlighted in a way stars never are today Susan commands the screen. Notice that she is surrounded only by colors that flatter her, the rooms she finds herself in are almost exclusively white or a soft green to highlight her flame colored tresses. Even the roadhouse where she starts the story has that high class sheen that is a hallmark of the studio era.

The performances are excellent. Dean ambles through without too much to do but handles his one big scene well. Martin Balsam and Ralph Meeker are solid as Dean's trusted friend and a slimy cop respectively but it's Wilfred Hyde-White who stands out as the reptilian political operator who crosses swords with Susan. Therein lies the meat of the story and the basic enjoyment of the film. When these two old pros square off the fireworks are a treat, although Susan gets a couple of other chances on her own to rip apart the unsuspecting when she discovers malfeasance.

A few interesting side notes. The actress playing Susan's madam, Connie Sawyer known as the oldest working actress in Hollywood, is still alive and appearing in small parts at 102 as of November 2014.

The other note is a bit more somber, as she entered the end of her cancer struggle Susan Hayward's friends told her they had arranged for her to see any of her films that she wanted and she selected this film much to their surprise. In hindsight though it's easy to see why, every effort is made to make her look her best, its set in the south which had been her home for many years during her happy second marriage and her part is tailor made to many of her strengths.

If you love Susan Hayward or old time studio made melodramas don't miss this!

Depression-era politics in the Old South, as guitar-strummin' sheriff Dean Martin campaigns for Governor, meeting and marrying call-girl Susan Hayward on the trail. Soon they're dealing with legislation problems and greedy weasels with old money, but will Hayward's ambitious nature ruin her marriage as well as bring her past history to light? Well-produced but naive, rather plodding melodrama based on Wirt Williams' novel "Ada Dallas" gives all the juiciest scenes to Hayward; Martin, on the other, is shunted off to the side (they're quite a pair anyway: he drinks, she smokes). The atmosphere of Southern plantations and back alleys isn't captured with much distinction (we don't even know what state this is supposedly taking place in), but the production is certainly colorful, even if the human interaction is rote. ** from ****

Attention Susan Hayward fans: add Ada to your list. She plays the title character, and it's one of the most classic "Susan Hayward roles" she ever played. It's not my all-time favorite of her films, because I'm not a Dean Martin fan, but it's an essential watch for all who love her.

Dean is a fast-rising politician in the South, and as everyone knows, skeletons run rampant in politicians' closets. When the movie starts, Dean doesn't have any scandal, but when he marries a prostitute, there's quite a bit of covering up to do! His campaign manager, Wilfrid Hyde White, and his speechwriter, Martin Balsam, can't stand Susan Hayward from the moment she marries Dean, because of the threat of danger she brings to their campaign. But when she starts becoming an even bigger threat-it's Susan Hayward, do we really think she'll be content acting like a simpering wife?-they really can't stand her!

Susan Hayward is one of my all-time favorite actresses, so I absolutely loved her in this role. Her character is everything you think of when you think of Susan Hayward: strong, charming, cunning, shrewd, tough, smart, sexy, and classy. I also love political movies, and this one shows the fantastic and sickening world of back-door politics. Check it out to further your love of either!

"Ada" has a good premise, but unfortunately does not evolve into a good movie. The soapy melodrama about a "puppet" gubernatorial candidate married to a prostitute does not due justice to the talents of its stars. The fine talents of the three main stars are not fully explored, and their characters are likewise underdeveloped. The ending is hardly probable, and as a resolution, it leaves a lot to be desired.

The cast do the best they can with the material they have. Dean Martin and Susan Hayward are both quite credible in their highly emotional performances. Wilfrid Hyde-White is also good in portraying a grasping and stifling villain, an unusual role for him.

The stars of this movie caught my eye when I checked this out of my local library, otherwise, I probably would have avoided it since it was such an obscure title. I just watched it with my mom who enjoyed it. I did too though I noticed it skimped on some details concerning the way corruption is possibly handled in politics. But it's fun seeing Dean Martin, Susan Hayward, and Wilfrid Hyde-White spar on screen as well as Ralph Meeker and Martin Balsam also around when it comes time to pick the good guys and the bad. Don't know if Dean's character is based on anyone from my home state of Louisiana who was elected governor but it's interesting when he's compared to some of them in other reviews on this site. Anyway, that's a recommendation of Ada.