 The film was a success, and Davis' characterization won praise from critics, with "Life" writing that she gave "probably the best performance ever recorded on the screen by a U.S. actress".Davis anticipated that her reception would encourage Warner Bros. to cast her in more important roles, and was disappointed when Jack L. Warner refused to lend her to Columbia Studios to appear in "It Happened One Night", and instead cast her in the melodrama "Housewife".When Davis was not nominated for an Academy Award for "Of Human Bondage", "The Hollywood Citizen News" questioned the omission, and Norma Shearer, herself a nominee, joined a campaign to have Davis nominated.