Biography
Never a Hollywood glamour girl, brunette Brooklynite Dorothy Tree was a versatile general purpose actress, playing everything from a middle-class housewife to a Nazi spy. After graduating from Cornell and working extensively on Broadway, Tree came to Hollywood for a part in the Fox musical comedy
Just Imagine (1930). She remained in films for the next twenty years, appearing in such roles as Elizabeth Edwards in
Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940) and
Teresa Wright's mother in
The Men (1950) (
Marlon Brando's first film). Given her expertise at dialects and subtleties of intonations, it isn't surprising that Dorothy Tree later became a top vocal coach, writing a public-speaking guide titled A Woman's Voice. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide