Dorothy Hawtree (1902-1981) was an Australian stage and screen actor, dancer and model during the 1920s. In 1919 she joined a theatre company touring the musical comedy The Better 'Ole to country towns, using motor vehicles to convey the artists and scenery (a process that had previously relied on the railway network). Hawtree's acting experience and successes in beauty competitions led to her being selected as a model for Rexona soap advertisements ("a Rexona Girl"). During the 1920s Hawtree appeared in theatrical prologues to major film releases, as well as pantomimes and other live theatre. She was cast in three silent films made in the early 1920s. In Daughter of the East Hawtree played the lead role and was a director of the company that produced the film.
After a marriage that ended in a high profile divorce, Hawtree re-married in 1931 and retired from show business.
Biography
Early life
Dorothy Gordon Hawtree was born on 28 December 1902 in the inner eastern Sydney suburb of Paddington, the daughter of Francis Hawtree and Jessie (née Irvine).New South Wales birth registration: Dorothy Gordon Hawtree; Registration No.: 5881/1903; registration district: Paddington. She was the eldest of five children in the family.Family records, per Ancestry.com. Dorothy's father worked as a tram driver. In 1913 the family was living at 20 Barclay Street in Waverley.1913 Electoral Roll, Randwick-Little Coogee Polling Place, page 10; Australian Electoral Commission, Canberra.
On 30 January 1918 Hawtree, aged 15 years, appeared as the character 'Fanny Sunbeam' in "an up-to-date pantomime version" of Babes in the Wood, a performance described as "one of the successes of the evening". The entertainment was presented in the Repertory Theatre in Grosvenor Street, Sydney, with the proceeds going to the Bondi-Waverley Voluntary Aid Detachment for the Anzac Buffet in the Domain.Repertory Theatre (advertisement), Sydney Morning Herald, 26 January 1918, page 2; Anzac Buffet Benefit, Sydney Morning Herald, 2 February 1918, page 15.
In mid-year 1918 a competition was held in Sydney designed to discover Australian young women "capable of doing work for the films", jointly organised by the proprietors of the Green Room magazine and Alec Lorimore of Paramount Pictures. Dubbed the Green Room Paramount Screen Contest, the competition gave each contestant "an opportunity of appearing before the camera in a potted playlet". The screen tests were shown at various Sydney cinemas (as additions to the feature film). Twelve of the "best girls" were to be awarded gold medals.Brains and Beauty Contest, The Mirror (Sydney), 14 June 1918, page 11; Brains and Beauty Girls, Arrow (Sydney), 21 June 1918, page 3. A reference from 1922 indicates that Hawtree entered and won the Green Room Paramount Screen Contest (or perhaps she was one of the twelve who were awarded gold medals), despite the fact that she was still aged fifteen years at that time.An Australian Beauty, Daily Telegraph (Sydney), 12 August 1922, page 8.
The Better 'Ole tour
In 1919 Hawtree was engaged to join an Australian theatre company to tour the patriotic musical comedy The Better 'Ole to country towns in New South Wales and Victoria. The tour was ground-breaking in its use of motor vehicles to convey the artists and scenery between country towns (a process that had previously relied on the railway network). This type of theatrical tour had been made possible in Australia by recent "improvements in motor travelling" and the innovation was "watched with more than ordinary interest"."The Better 'Ole", Leader (Orange), 22 August 1919, page 7.The Better 'Ole, Referee (Sydney), 10 September 1919, page 9. Hawtree played the role of the flirtatious 'Suzette', one of the two French maids (with the other maid, 'Victoire', played by the leading lady June Addell).Fragments From France, Numurkah Leader, 8 October 1919, page 2; "The Better 'Ole", Horsham Times, 21 October 1919, page 5.
The Better 'Ole had been a success in London's West End after opening there in August 1917."The Better 'Ole", BroadwayWorld website, published by Wisdom Digital Media; accessed 7 October 2022. In early 1919 an English dramatic company was brought to Australia by the theatrical entrepreneur Hugh D. McIntosh, performing the musical to great acclaim in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide (and several major regional centres).Tivoli: The Better 'Ole, The Herald (Melbourne), 10 March 1919, page 3; Amusements: Bairnsfather's Comedy Play, Ballarat Star, 9 May 1919, page 4; Tivoli Theatre - "The Better 'Ole", Sydney Morning Herald, 17 May 1919, page 18; "The Better 'Ole", Newcastle Sun, 30 June 1919, page 1.
Building on the popularity of the English company's performances, an Australian company was formed by Lionel Walsh (by arrangement with Hugh D. McIntosh) to tour The Better 'Ole to regional townships. Walsh, who had lately been the stage manager for J. and N. Tait, cast himself in the lead role of 'Old Bill'. Three "big" cars were purchased to convey the fifteen company members between townships, "fitted in a luxurious manner with a view to the personal comfort of the artists". A lorry was also purchased to "carry the scenery and wardrobe". Walsh's tour of The Better 'Ole using motor cars "induced several artists to sign up for the tour who in the past have refused to travel beyond the capital cities owing to the never-ending string of early train calls, commencing anywhere between 2 a.m. and break of day". The company became known as the Lionel Walsh Comedy Company.
The theatrical convoy left Sydney in late August 1919. For the first leg of the tour the company played at Katoomba, Bathurst, Orange, Wellington, Dubbo, Peak Hill and Parkes. An account in The Wyalong Advocate drew attention for its readers that the coming attraction to the township "is the actual play, not a picture" and that the performance "will be staged and mounted on the same complete and elaborate scale as characterised its production at the Tivoli Theatre Sydney". The Better 'Ole was performed at the Rio Hall in Wyalong on Saturday, 27 September 1919.The Better 'Ole, Wyalong Advocate and Mining, Agricultural and Pastoral Gazette, 19 September 1919, page 5. By early October the tour had crossed the Murray River into Victoria, playing at Numurkah on October 8 and two nights later in the Shire Hall at Benalla.Fragments From France and The Better 'Ole (advertisement), The North Eastern Ensign (Benalla), 3 October 1919, page 3. After a month in Victoria the company crossed back into New South Wales, playing at Deniliquin on November 11 and the following night in the town hall at Jerilderie.Fragments From France, The Independent (Deniliquin), 31 October 1919, page 2; A good house..., Jerilderie Herald and Urana Advertiser, 13 November 1919, page 3.
In about mid-December 1919, prior to Walsh's theatrical company beginning a tour of Tasmania, Hawtree left the group. After Hawtree's departure, for the initial performances in Tasmania, the role of Suzette was shared between Dorothy May and Lena Henry.The last mention of Hawtree as 'Suzette': Telegrams, Delegate Argus, 18 December 1919, page 2; Dorothy May and Lena Henry as 'Suzette': "The Better 'Ole", World (Hobart), 24 January 1920, page 8; Theatre Royal: "The Better 'Ole", World, 26 January 1920, page 6.
A Rexona girl
On 8 October 1919, while Hawtree was touring country towns with The Better 'Ole company, a full-page advertisement for Rexona soap was published in Sydney's The Sun newspaper. The advertisement, with the headline "How to win life's great race— A charming smile and a handsome face!", featured a photograph of Hawtree, described as "A Charming Rexona Girl".Rexona soap (advertisement), The Sun (Sydney), 8 October 1919, page 8.
In Sydney in February 1920 a contest was commenced to find a double for the popular American silent-film star, Olive Thomas, with the winner to secure a film engagement of six months at £35 a week. The contest was conducted and voted upon by the audiences at sessions of The Spite Bride, a film starring Olive Thomas being screened in the Strand cinema in Pitt Street and the Empress in George Street. By mid-March "the ten most promising candidates" had been selected.Seeking a Double for Olive Thomas, The Sun (Sydney), 15 February 1920, page 16; New Photoplays, The Sun, 21 March 1920, page 19. In May it was announced that "Miss Dorothy Hawtree, of Mosman" had won the Olive Thomas double competition by 783 votes. Film footage of Hawtree and the two runners-up in the contest were to be "sent to America to be screened before Olive Thomas".Olive Thomas' Contest, The Sun (Sydney), 16 May 1920, page 16.
In June 1920 another full-page Rexona soap advertisement featuring Hawtree was published in Brisbane's Daily Mail.Rexona Soap for Health and Beauty (advertisement), Daily Mail (Brisbane), 5 June 1920, page 11. Further Rexona advertisements in various formats, featuring illustrations of Hawtree, were published in November and December 1920 in Sydney as well as Melbourne.Survey of digitalised Australian newspapers, Trove website. The advertising copy was updated to inform readers that "Miss Hawtree is the winner of the Olive Thomas Beauty Contest, and has a great future predicted for her in motion pictures".Examples include: Rexona (advertisement), The Argus (Melbourne), 9 November 1920, page 9; Rexona (advertisement), Daily Telegraph (Sydney), 18 December 1920, page 16.
In September 1920 the news reached Australia of the tragic death of Olive Thomas in Paris.Olive Thomas Dead, Sunday Times (Sydney), 12 September 1920, page 1.
In December 1920 a full-page advertisement for Rexona soap featured fourteen separate photographs of young women (including Hawtree), captioned "Some Beautiful Members of the Rexona Girls' Club; Why Not be a Rexona girl, too?; Be Dainty, be Pretty, be Attractive, be a Rexona Girl".Rexona (advertisement), The Sun (Sydney), 29 December 1920, page 9.
In November 1921 Hawtree danced with Kelso Henderson in a revue at the Tivoli Theatre in Sydney. Their performance was described as "a tip-top exhibition of feature dancing", which was so popular with the audience "they had to extend their turn considerably".Tivoli: Giant Comedy Conjurer, The Sun (Sydney), 6 November 1921, page 4. Their encore number was described as "striking and athletic", where "Mr. Henderson swings Miss Hawtree round and round at a terrific rate, while she clings to his neck".Tivoli Crowded, Sunday Times (Sydney), 6 November 1921, page 3. Later in November Henderson and Hawtree danced at the Dixieland Cabaret at Clifford Gardens near Mosman, on Sydney's Lower North Shore.Dixieland (advertisement), The Sun (Sydney), 26 November 1921, page 4; Dixieland Cabaret, Sunday Times (Sydney), 27 November 1921, page 3.
Rexona advertisements using Hawtree's image in various formats continued to be published in newspapers up until March 1924.Be a Rexona Girl!, Sunday Times (Sydney), 30 March 1924, page 4.
Film work
In April 1922 the Lyceum Beauty Week Competition was held in Sydney. Entrants in the competition were filmed at the Australasian Films' studios at Rushcutters Bay and selected screen tests were shown in special presentations in the Lyceum and New Lyric theatres in Sydney.The Movie Move: Camera Man's Troubles, The Sun (Sydney), 7 April 1922, page 6;The Movie Move: Last Day Rush, The Sun, 8 April 1922, page 2; A Beauty Show, The Sun, 23 April 1922, page 20. Dorothy Hawtree entered the competition and, at the end of the process, was judged to be the overall winner.Surf Hero Jack Chalmers, Sunday Times (Sydney), 21 May 1922, page 10; In Movieland, The Sun (Sydney), 9 June 1922, page 8; Film Flashes, Sunday Times, 11 June 1922, page 22.