Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

John Qualen

Highest Rated: 100% Anatomy of a Murder (1959)

Lowest Rated: 50% North to Alaska (1960)

Birthday: Dec 8, 1899

Birthplace: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

John Qualen appeared in some of the greatest movies ever made, but his versatility allowed him to seem like a different man from picture to picture. He specialized in Scandinavians, but actually played various nationalities over the course of his career, which caught its first break in 1929 when he portrayed Carl Olsen, a Swedish janitor in the Broadway play "Street Scene." He recreated the part for a film version two years later, the first of a long line of different movies and accents. The same year as "Street Scene," he was in John Ford's "Arrowsmith," which started a lengthy collaboration with the director. For over 30 years, he belonged to Ford's stock company and appeared in some of his best-known films, often playing working-class men with ethnic names--Lars Jorgensen in "The Searchers," Axel Swanson in "The Long Voyage Home," Ericson in "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance"--and enunciations to go with them. His characters' accents were sometimes intended for humorous effect; exceptions included Ford's 1940 adaptation of "The Grapes of Wrath," in which Qualen played the irrevocably broken Muley Graves. With a Midwestern twang, Graves told the story of farms being foreclosed and homes being destroyed. That unexpectedly haunting accent found its way into a comedy, too--Howard Hawks's 1940 "His Girl Friday," in which Qualen portrayed a convicted murderer. Another role he is widely remembered for is Victor Laszlo's Resistance contact, Berger, in "Casablanca," whose Scandinavian accent fit the cosmopolitan setting perfectly.

Show Less Show More

Highest rated movies

100% 91% Anatomy of a Murder Watchlist
100% 45% Captain Kidd
Watchlist
100% 70% The Long Voyage Home
Watchlist
100% 88% The Grapes of Wrath Watchlist
100% 83% The Devil and Daniel Webster
Watchlist
99% 90% His Girl Friday Watchlist
95% 92% The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Watchlist
89% 72% Street Scene
Watchlist
89% 91% A Patch of Blue
Watchlist
88% 60% Knute Rockne, All American
Watchlist

Filmography

Movies

Credit
No Score Yet No Score Yet Getting Away From It All Charlie Erickson (Character) - 1972
No Score Yet No Score Yet Hail, Hero! Billy Hurd (Character) - 1969
No Score Yet 56% Firecreek Hall (Character) - 1968
No Score Yet 85% A Big Hand for the Little Lady Jesse Buford (Character) - 1966
89% 91% A Patch of Blue Mr. Faber (Character) - 1965
No Score Yet 31% I'll Take Sweden Olaf (Character) - 1965
86% 78% 7 Faces of Dr. Lao Luther Lindquist (Character) - 1964
60% 44% Cheyenne Autumn Svenson (uncredited) (Character) - 1964
No Score Yet 52% Those Calloways Ernie Evans (Character) - 1964
95% 92% The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance Peter Ericson (Character) - 1962
86% 52% Two Rode Together Ole Knudsen (Character) - 1961
No Score Yet 45% Hell Bent for Leather Old Ben (Character) - 1960
50% 76% North to Alaska Logger (Character) - 1960
100% 91% Anatomy of a Murder Deputy Sheriff Sulo (Character) - 1959
No Score Yet 33% The Gun Runners Pop (Character) - 1958
No Score Yet 38% Terror in the Haunted House Jonah Snell (Character) - 1958
No Score Yet No Score Yet Revolt in the Big House Doc (Character) - 1958
No Score Yet 30% The Big Land Sven Johnson (Character) - 1957
87% 88% The Searchers Lars Jorgensen (Character) - 1956
No Score Yet 54% The Sea Chase Chief Engineer Schmitt (Character) - 1955
No Score Yet No Score Yet Unchained Leonard Haskins (Character) - 1955
No Score Yet 33% At Gunpoint Livingstone (Character) - 1955
No Score Yet 50% Passion Gaspar Melo (Character) - 1954
No Score Yet 40% I, the Jury Dr. R.H. Vickers, Veterinarian (Character) - 1953
No Score Yet 14% Ambush at Tomahawk Gap Jonas P. Travis (Character) - 1953
83% 76% Hans Christian Andersen Burgomaster (Character) - 1952
No Score Yet 32% Goodbye, My Fancy Professor Dingley (Character) - 1951
No Score Yet No Score Yet Belle Le Grand Corky McGee (Character) - 1951
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Flying Missile Lars Hansen (Character) - 1951
88% 77% Woman on the Run Maibus (Character) - 1950
No Score Yet No Score Yet Buccaneer's Girl Vegetable Man (Character) - 1950
No Score Yet 54% Hollow Triumph Swangron (Character) - 1948
No Score Yet No Score Yet Alias a Gentleman No End (Character) - 1948
No Score Yet No Score Yet My Girl Tisa Svenson (Character) - 1948
71% 61% The Fugitive A Refugee Doctor (Character) - 1947
No Score Yet No Score Yet Song of Scheherazade Lorenzo (Character) - 1947
No Score Yet No Score Yet High Conquest Peter Oberwalder Sr. (Character) - 1947
No Score Yet 64% Roughly Speaking Svend Olsen (Character) - 1945
100% 45% Captain Kidd Bart Blivens (Character) - 1945
No Score Yet 68% Adventure Model T (Character) - 1945
86% 50% An American Romance Anton Dubechek (Character) - 1944
No Score Yet No Score Yet Swing Shift Maisie Horatio Curley (Character) - 1943
No Score Yet 44% Tortilla Flat Jose Maria Corcoran (Character) - 1942
75% 80% Arabian Nights Aladdin (Character) - 1942
54% 56% Jungle Book The Barber (Character) - 1942
No Score Yet 79% Larceny, Inc. Sam Bachrach (Character) - 1942
100% 83% The Devil and Daniel Webster Miser Stevens (Character) - 1941
No Score Yet 65% The Shepherd of the Hills Coot Royal (Character) - 1941
No Score Yet 30% Out of the Fog Olaf Johnson (Character) - 1941
No Score Yet 47% Million Dollar Baby Dr. Patterson (Character) - 1941
No Score Yet No Score Yet Model Wife The Janitor (Character) - 1941
No Score Yet 89% Blondie on a Budget Mr. Ed Fuddle (Character) - 1940
67% 49% Angels Over Broadway Charles Engle (Character) - 1940
100% 70% The Long Voyage Home Axel (Character) - 1940
100% 88% The Grapes of Wrath Muley (Character) - 1940
99% 90% His Girl Friday Earl Williams (Character) - 1940
88% 60% Knute Rockne, All American Lars Knutson Rockne (Character) - 1940
No Score Yet No Score Yet Youth Will Be Served Clem Howie (Character) - 1940
No Score Yet No Score Yet Stand Up and Fight Davy (Character) - 1939
No Score Yet No Score Yet Thunder Afloat Milo (Character) - 1939
No Score Yet No Score Yet Five of a Kind Asa Wyatt (Character) - 1938
No Score Yet 53% Joy of Living Oswego (Character) - 1938
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Chaser Lars (Character) - 1938
No Score Yet 54% Seventh Heaven Sewer Rat (Character) - 1937
No Score Yet No Score Yet Fit for a King Otto (Character) - 1937
No Score Yet No Score Yet She Had to Eat Sleepy (Character) - 1937
No Score Yet 22% Girls' Dormitory Toni (Character) - 1936
No Score Yet No Score Yet Meet Nero Wolfe Olaf (Character) - 1936
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Farmer Takes a Wife Sol Tinker (Character) - 1935
83% 50% Black Fury Mike Shemanski (Character) - 1935
No Score Yet 20% Doubting Thomas Von Blitzen (Character) - 1935
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Three Musketeers Planchet (Character) - 1935
No Score Yet No Score Yet Thunder in the Night Porter (Character) - 1935
No Score Yet No Score Yet Man of Iron Collins (Character) - 1935
No Score Yet No Score Yet Chasing Yesterday Aristide Coccoz (Character) - 1935
No Score Yet 50% Charlie Chan in Paris Concierge (Character) - 1935
No Score Yet 20% 365 Nights in Hollywood Prof. Herman Ellenbogen (Character) - 1934
79% 67% Our Daily Bread Chris Larsen (Character) - 1934
No Score Yet 10% He Was Her Man Dutch (Character) - 1934
89% 72% Street Scene Karl Olsen (Character) - 1931

TV

Credit
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Streets of San Francisco Frank Casey (Guest Star) 1973
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Odd Couple Mr. Larson (Guest Star) 1973
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Partridge Family The Old Man (Guest Star) 1972
No Score Yet No Score Yet Green Acres Willie Dunhill (Guest Star) 1968 1970
No Score Yet No Score Yet I Spy Unknown (Guest Star) 1967
10% No Score Yet The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. Unknown (Guest Star) 1966
No Score Yet No Score Yet Shane Old Man (Guest Star) 1966
No Score Yet No Score Yet Jericho Unknown (Character) 1966
No Score Yet No Score Yet Hazel Unknown (Guest Star) 1966
No Score Yet No Score Yet Ben Casey Mr. Wren (Guest Star) 1963 1965
No Score Yet No Score Yet Dr. Kildare Unknown (Guest Star) 1964
No Score Yet No Score Yet My Favorite Martian Unknown (Guest Star) 1964
No Score Yet No Score Yet Laramie Mr. Elbee (Guest Star) 1962
No Score Yet 88% The Andy Griffith Show Henry Bennett (Guest Star) 1962
No Score Yet No Score Yet Bonanza Unknown (Guest Star) 1961
No Score Yet No Score Yet Thriller Unknown (Character) 1961
No Score Yet No Score Yet Sugarfoot Unknown (Guest Star) 1960
No Score Yet No Score Yet Bronco Unknown (Guest Star) 1959
No Score Yet No Score Yet Cheyenne Unknown (Guest Star) 1957
No Score Yet No Score Yet Climax! Unknown (Character) 1956
No Score Yet 87% Alfred Hitchcock Presents Mr. Stepp (Character) 1956
No Score Yet No Score Yet Father Knows Best Unknown (Guest Star) 1956
No Score Yet No Score Yet Cavalcade of America Waddell (Character) 1953