Ada 1961

Bo Gillis is a guitar-playing man from a Southern state who becomes a populist candidate for governor. He is elected after his opponent’s wife is revealed to have a dark secret, a fact exposed by Sylvester Marin, his campaign mastermind, whose shrewd manipulation helps shape the race.

Shortly before the election, Bo visits a nightclub, where he meets a prostitute named Ada Dallas. They share a similar upbringing, and Bo feels an immediate bond. They are soon married, which upsets Bo’s assistant Steve and Sylvester, who want 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 documents at Sylvester’s behest. His childhood friend Ronnie Hallerton is dismissed as lieutenant governor for opposing Sylvester.

To control Bo, Sylvester requests help from Ada, who demands to be appointed lieutenant governor in return. Bo is furious with Ada for becoming part of the sordid political scene.

After he continues to oppose Sylvester’s influence, a bomb explodes in his car, severely injuring him. In the hospital, Bo accuses Ada of conspiring to murder him, and she angrily leaves him.

Ada takes the oath as acting governor but then begins to defy Sylvester, promoting Bo’s ideas for honest government. Her former madam tricks her into offering $10,000 to remain quiet about Ada’s past.

During a decisive vote at the state capitol, as Bo views from the gallery, Sylvester and his henchman Colonel Yancey try to sabotage Ada’s plans by revealing her dark secret. Bo delivers an impromptu speech to defend Ada. Sylvester is ruined, and Bo and Ada depart the capitol, reunited.