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!

Susan Hayward right after her triumph in I Want To Live had a string of hit movies: Woman Obsessed, Marriage Go Round, Back Street and this film Ada. Ada was filmed at MGM with Hayward's favorite Director Daniel Mann at the helm and was produced by Hayward's Chalmar Production Company. The Hayward-Mann connection was responsible for Susan Hayward's favorite film I'll Cry Tomorrow also at MGM which won the Star the Cannes Film Festival Award and an Oscar nomination. This film lavishly produced by MGM centers around Ms. Hayward playing a tramp who marries the Governor of a Southern State played by Dean Martin, and eventually becomes Governor due to an assignation attempt on the Governor played by Dean Martin. Susan Hayward's skill as an actress and Dean Martin's fine leading Man work mesh well together.

Supporting players include Martin Balsam and Ralph Meeker both ably acquit themselves. I liked the scene where Meeker tries to blackmail La Hayward as the Governor's wife. Susan Hayward-ever in control simply slaps Meeker and moves on. ( In my opinion Meeker should have been a major star) Wlfrid Hyde White plays a very wily Southern politician.

For the record as is part of Susan Hayward legend, Of all Ms Hayward's classic films such as I Want To Live, Smash Up, My Foolish Heart, etc, Ada is the film Susan Hayward requested to see just before Ms Hayward died of brain cancer.

Also note that there are many scenes with bouquets of yellow Roses. said to be Ms Hayward's favorite flower, Susan Hayward carries a big bouquet of yellow roses to Mr. Hyde-White.

Ada is a Susan Hayward movie, if you like Ms. Hayward -and I do!- you will like this film.

The conclusion of the film is intelligent where Susan Hayward and Martin reconcile and walk out of the State Capitol as equals.

"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.

Though entertaining enough, "Ada" does not belong in the top tier of Susan Hayward showcases. She's terrific as always, in a role that suits her, but too much in this stretches credibility and lacks proper transitioning. I blame the script, plus Susan and Dean Martin don't especially click together. The film is set in the South and, even though it says Ada comes from Alabama originally, its never made clear which state the action occurs in. The period is also not spelled out, though at the beginning, as Martin is campaigning, he passes a movie theater showing "Escapade", a 1935 William Powell vehicle. Yet, the clothing and hairstyles are definitely not 30's style. Two fine character actors, Martin Balsam and Ralph Meeker, are not given enough to do in support, while Wilfred Hyde-White never seems quite right as wily power-behind-the-scenes Sylvester Marin, his British accent out of place even with a layer of Southern drawl superimposed over it. All in all, you'll be entertained by this combination of "All the King's Men" and "A Face in the Crowd" with sudsy soap opera, but don't expect greatness.

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.