Dolly Tree
Costume & Make-Up
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Dolly Tree (17 March 1899–17 May 1962) was an English illustrator, actress and costume designer who during the 1930s and 1940s designed dresses for Myrna Loy, Jean Harlow, Rosalind Russell, Maureen O'Sullivan and Judy Garland among others in addition to costuming historical dramas such as David Copperfield (1935) and A Tale of Two Cities (1935). Born in Westbury-on-Trym in Bristol in 1899 as Dorothy Marian Isbell, the daughter of Charles Edwin Isbell (1863-1942) , a solicitor, and Bertha Marian (née Keith-Williams) at an early age she discovered an aptitude for drawing before being drawn towards a career on the stage. In 1912 her family relocated to London and she began her career as an artist after seeing the play Vanity Fair at the Palace Theatre in 1916. Of the play she later wrote, ‘I was fascinated by the wonderful dancing and art of Regine Flory and admired her so much that I started to design a special poster of her, really to amuse myself, based on my recollections of this vivid artist seen across the footlights.’ A friend took her drawing to Sir Alfred Butt who bought it and gave her a two-year contract (c1917-1918) to design posters and programme covers for of all his shows including The Boy (1917), The Beauty Spot (1918), Going Up (1918), Telling the Tale (1918), The Latest Craze (1919), The Kiss Call (1919), Very Good Eddie (1919) and Hello America (1919). Her comic illustrations also appeared in various British newspapers and magazines. Between 1915 and 1918 Dolly Tree appeared in five British silent films as an actress. In the United Kingdom her career as a costume designer began in the 1920s on various cabaret shows in London in particular; in 1923 she collaborated on her first film, Woman to Woman, directed by Graham Cutts and with Alfred Hitchcock as the co-screenwriter, artistic director and assistant director. Her work became popular in Paris where she became the first English person and the first woman to design for the Folies Bergère. In 1926 she moved to the United States, first working in New York where she created the costumes for the 1928 Broadway play Diamond Lil starring Mae West. She then went to Hollywood where she was involved in designing for 175 American films, firstly for Fox Studios (1929-1931) and then for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (1931-1942), mainly as a designer of dresses, among others alongside Adrian. In 1931 while working at Fox Studios she met and married the American Naval officer Thomas Kimes. Although the marriage was a happy one but his career in the Navy kept them apart and they divorced in 1940. After her divorce Tree began to drink heavily which lead to her leaving MGM in 1942 and returning to Fox Studios where she married her second husband Don E. Whiteford. However, this marriage also did not work and they quickly divorced, which drove Tree further into alcoholism. Her second divorce, her heavy drinking and the death of her father in 1942 lead to her becoming increasing unreliable and losing her job.
Known For
A husband and wife detective team takes on the search for a missing inventor and almost get killed for their efforts.
The Thin Man
Joe, who owns a gas station along with his brothers and is about to marry Katherine, travels to the small town where she lives to visit her, but is wrongly mistaken for a wanted kidnapper and arrested.
Fury
A young man journeys from a difficult childhood to maturity, exploring social injustice, personal development, and the complexities of human relationships.
David Copperfield
A law student poses as a fight promoter to catch a notorious gangster.
Sworn Enemy
Not even the joys of parenthood can stop married sleuths Nick and Nora Charles from investigating a murder on a Long Island estate.
Another Thin Man
The Marx Brothers take on high society and the opera world to bring two lovers together. A sly business manager and two wacky friends of two opera singers help them achieve success while humiliating their stuffy and snobbish enemies.
A Night at the Opera
Set against the conditions leading up to the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror, French doctor Alexandre Manette serves an 18-year imprisonment in the Bastille in Paris, followed by his release to live in London with the daughter he has never met.
A Tale of Two Cities
Nick and Nora Charles investigate when Nora's cousin reports her disreputable husband is missing, and find themselves in a mystery involving the shady owners of a popular nightclub, a singer and her dark brother, the cousin's forsaken true love, and Nora's bombastic and controlling aunt.
After the Thin Man
Escaped convicts Jack and Judy stumble upon an airstrip on the Western ranch of arrogant business tycoon Gerald Axton. Taking Axton and his secretary hostage, the convicts inadvertently cause the crash-landing of a small plane ferrying Axton's political adversary, Gov. Sam Pruden, and a nosy reporter. As the long night unfolds, each person's rivalries and weaknesses are prodded by the others.
Absolute Quiet
Doctor Hugo Hackenbush, Tony, and Stuffy try and save Judy's sanitarium by winning a big race with a finicky horse owned by Judy's boyfriend Gil. There are a few problems. Hackenbush, who was recently put in charge of the sanitarium, isn't really a doctor, he's a veterinarian.
A Day at the Races
When a major newspaper accuses wealthy socialite Connie Allenbury of being a home-wrecker, and she files a multi-million-dollar libel lawsuit, the publication's frazzled head editor, Warren Haggerty, must find a way to turn the tables on her. Soon Haggerty's harried fiancée, Gladys Benton, and his dashing friend Bill Chandler are in on a scheme that aims to discredit Connie, with amusing and unexpected results.
Libeled Lady
Billy "The Kid" Bonney is a hot-headed gunslinger who postpones his life of crime when he is befriended and hired by peaceful cattle rancher Eric Keating. When Keating is killed by a rival, Billy seeks revenge, even if it means opposing his old friend, Marshal Jim Sherwood.
Billy the Kid
A con man heading west to search for gold teams up with a pair of scheming brothers along the way. The trio soon find themselves in the middle of a feud between two rival families and two underhanded land developers.
Go West
The friendship between two orphans endures even though they grow up on opposite sides of the law and fall in love with the same woman.
Manhattan Melodrama
While in Shanghai reporting on the Sino-Japanese war, Chris Hunter, a shrewd news reporter, meets pilot Alma Harding. She does not trust him, but he manages to hire her as his assistant. During an adventurous expedition through the jungles of South America, her opinion of him begins to change.
Too Hot to Handle
West Point cadet Dick Thorpe falls in love with a girl, who turns out to be a princess from an European kingdom.
Rosalie
Jeff Wilson, the owner of a small circus, owes his partner Carter $10,000. Before Jeff can pay, Carter's accomplices steal the money so he can take over the circus. Antonio Pirelli and Punchy, who work at the circus, together with lawyer Loophole try to find the thief and get the money back.
At the Circus
Judge Hardy takes his family to New York City, where Andy quickly falls in love with a socialite. He finds the high society life too expensive, and eventually decides that he liked it better back home.
Andy Hardy Meets Debutante
Jim is a test pilot. His wife Ann and best friend Gunner try their best to keep him sober. But the life of a test pilot is anything but safe.
Test Pilot
Linda, the wife of a publishing executive, suspects that her husband Van’s relationship with his attractive secretary Whitey is more than professional.