Bette Davis of Margo Channing in the film as fifth on their list of 100 Greatest Performances of All Time, commenting: "There is something deliciously audacious about her gleeful willingness to play such unattractive emotions as jealousy, bitterness, and neediness." While reviewing "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" (1962) in 2008, Ebert asserted that, "No one who has seen the film will ever forget her." A few months before her death in 1989, Davis was one of several actors featured on the cover of "Life" magazine. In a film retrospective that celebrated the films and stars of 1939, "Life" concluded that Davis
Comet Over Broadway leave her baby girl with her friend Mrs. "Tim" Adams (Gombell). Bert Ballin (Hunter) befriends her and they fall in love, but she moves abroad and becomes a star. Back in America, as the "Toast of Broadway", she is brought back to a realization of her former vows by Joe Grant (Crisp), her hometown lawyer. Warners originally announced the project in May 1937 as a vehicle for Kay Francis based on a story by Faith Baidlwin. In February 1938 the role was assigned to Bette Davis, who had just been in "Jezebel". She was pulled off "All Right's Reserved" (which