Bette Davis of the thirties and into the forties", achieving notability for the variety of her characterizations and her ability to assert herself, even when her material was mediocre. Individual performances continued to receive praise; in 1987, Bill Collins analyzed "The Letter" (1940), and described her performance as "a brilliant, subtle achievement", and wrote: "Bette Davis makes Leslie Crosbie one of the most extraordinary females in movies." In a 2000 review for "All About Eve" (1950), Roger Ebert noted: "Davis was a character, an icon with a grand style; so, even her excesses are realistic." In 2006, "Premiere" magazine ranked her portrayal
Bette Davis after Honoré de Balzac's "La Cousine Bette". During their time in New York, Davis became a Girl Scout who proved so successful she later ranked as a Patrol Leader. Davis attended Cushing Academy, a boarding school in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, where she met her future husband, Harmon O. Nelson, known as "Ham". In 1926, a then 18-year-old Davis saw a production of Henrik Ibsen's "The Wild Duck" with Blanche Yurka and Peg Entwistle. Davis later recalled for Al Cohn of "Newsday", "The reason I wanted to go into theater was because of an actress named Peg Entwistle." She auditioned for admission