John Qualen

Actor

About

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Also Known As

John Oleson, John M. Qualen

Birth Place

Vancouver, British Columbia, CA

Born

December 08, 1899

Died

September 12, 1987

Cause of Death

Heart Failure

Biography

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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 ...

Filmography

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Frasier, The Sensuous Lion (1973)

Getting Away From It All (1972)

Charlie Erickson

Firecreek (1968)

A Big Hand for the Little Lady (1966)

The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)

Photos & Videos

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Sea Chase, The (1953) -- (Movie Clip) No Daydreaming

Black Fury (1935) -- (Movie Clip) Shut Up About The Union!

Biography

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.

Filmography

Cast (Feature Film)

Frasier, The Sensuous Lion (1973)

Getting Away From It All (1972)

Charlie Erickson

Firecreek (1968)

A Big Hand for the Little Lady (1966)

The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)

A Patch of Blue (1965)

I'll Take Sweden (1965)

Those Calloways (1965)

Cheyenne Autumn (1964)

7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964)

Luther Lindquist

The Prize (1963)

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

Two Rode Together (1961)

Elmer Gantry (1960)

Hell Bent for Leather (1960)

North to Alaska (1960)

Anatomy of a Murder (1959)

Revolt in the Big House (1958)

My World Dies Screaming (1958)

The Gun Runners (1958)

The Big Land (1957)

The Searchers (1956)

Johnny Concho (1956)

Unchained (1955)

Leonard Haskins

At Gunpoint (1955)

The Sea Chase (1955)

The High and the Mighty (1954)

The Other Woman (1954)

The Student Prince (1954)

I, the Jury (1953)

Dr. R. H. Vickers

Ambush at Tomahawk Gap (1953)

Jonas P. Travis

Francis Covers the Big Town (1953)

Hans Christian Andersen (1952)

Goodbye, My Fancy (1951)

Belle Le Grand (1951)

The Flying Missile (1951)

The Jackpot (1950)

Woman on the Run (1950)

Captain China (1950)

Buccaneer's Girl (1950)

The Big Steal (1949)

Hollow Triumph (1948)

Reaching from Heaven (1948)

16 Fathoms Deep (1948)

Alias a Gentleman (1948)

My Girl Tisa (1948)

Song of Scheherazade (1947)

High Conquest (1947)

Peter Oberwalder

The Fugitive (1947)

A refugee doctor

Adventure (1946)

River Gang (1945)

Captain Kidd (1945)

Roughly Speaking (1945)

An American Romance (1944)

Dark Waters (1944)

Uncle Norbert Lamont/Pinky

The Impostor (1944)

Swing Shift Maisie (1943)

Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book (1942)

Tortilla Flat (1942)

Jose Maria Corcoran

Larceny, Inc. (1942)

Arabian Nights (1942)

Casablanca (1942)

Out of the Fog (1941)

All That Money Can Buy (1941)

New Wine (1941)

Model Wife (1941)

Million Dollar Baby (1941)

The Shepherd of the Hills (1941)

Brother Orchid (1940)

Saturday's Children (1940)

First carpenter

His Girl Friday (1940)

Angels over Broadway (1940)

Ski Patrol (1940)

Youth Will Be Served (1940)

The Long Voyage Home (1940)

The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

Blondie on a Budget (1940)

On Their Own (1940)

[Abner K.] Peters

Knute Rockne--All American (1940)

Lars Knutson Rockne

Babies for Sale (1940)

Let Us Live (1939)

Four Wives (1939)

Thunder Afloat (1939)

Stand Up and Fight (1939)

Mickey, the Kid (1939)

Honeymoon in Bali (1939)

The Mad Miss Manton (1938)

Subway watchman

Joy of Living (1938)

Outside the Law (1938)

The Chaser (1938)

Five of a Kind (1938)

The Texans (1938)

Fifty Roads to Town (1937)

She Had to Eat (1937)

Fit for a King (1937)

Seventh Heaven (1937)

Angel's Holiday (1937)

The Bad Man of Brimstone (1937)

Nothing Sacred (1937)

Ring Around the Moon (1936)

Girls' Dormitory (1936)

The Road to Glory (1936)

The Country Doctor (1936)

Meet Nero Wolfe (1936)

Wife Vs. Secretary (1936)

Doubting Thomas (1935)

Chasing Yesterday (1935)

Black Fury (1935)

Mike [Shemanski]

Thunder in the Night (1935)

Silk Hat Kid (1935)

Mr. Fossbender [Rasmussen]

One More Spring (1935)

Charlie Chan in Paris (1935)

The Three Musketeers (1935)

Orchids to You (1935)

Man of Iron (1935)

The Great Hotel Murder (1935)

The Farmer Takes a Wife (1935)

Our Daily Bread (1934)

Upper World (1934)

365 Nights in Hollywood (1934)

Professor [Herman] Ellenbogen

He Was Her Man (1934)

Servants' Entrance (1934)

Sing and Like It (1934)

Private Scandal (1934)

Straight Is the Way (1934)

Hi Nellie! (1934)

Counsellor at Law (1933)

Johan Breitstein

Let's Fall in Love (1933)

Svente Bjorkman

Street Scene (1931)

Arrowsmith (1931)

Cast (Special)

Life Events

Videos

Sea Chase, The (1953) -- (Movie Clip) No Daydreaming Moored off a South Pacific island to collect wood to fuel their way to Chile, German steamer officers Kirchner and Schmidt (Lyle Bettger, John Qualen) are interrupted by captain Ehrlich (John Wayne), who has special instructions regarding their sexy spy passenger (Lana Turner), who is in turn impressed by his consideration for old soldier Schmidt (Paul Fix), in The Sea Chase, 1955.

Black Fury (1935) -- (Movie Clip) Shut Up About The Union! Early events, inside the coal mine Warner Bros. built at the ranch in Calabsas, Ca., John Qualen as honest Mike gets in a spat with newcomer Kroner (J. Carrol Naish) about their union, which gets the attention of popular Joe (Paul Muni), who’s more excited about his wedding, in Black Fury. 1935.

Black Fury (1935) -- (Movie Clip) Old Country Dance At the Pennsylvania coal mine company town, proud “bohunk” miner Joe (Paul Muni) leads his party, including pal Mike (John Qualen) and his maybe-wavering fianceè Anna (Karen Morley), into the dance, even greeting the company cops (Ward Bond, and William Gargan as Slim), in Warner Bros.’ controversial Black Fury, 1935.

Black Fury (1935) -- (Movie Clip) It's My Coal! Miners’ union men Tommy (Tully Marshall) and Mike (John Qualen) are checking membership at the gate, the morning after their popular pal Joe (Paul Muni) got drunk after his girl dumped him, and accidentally joined a crooked anti-union uprising, led by agitator Kroner (J. Carrol Naish), in Warner Bros.’ Black Fury, 1935.

Big Land, The (1957) -- (Movie Clip) Bathrooms In A House? Taken in by immigrant Johnson (John Qualen) and his widowed daughter-in-law (Julie Bishop) in post-Civil War Kansas, Texas cattle man Morgan (Alan Ladd) and his new drying-out pal Jagger (Edmond O’Brien) learn more about each other and meet ranch hand Ben (James Seay), and the blonde kid is Ladd’s son David, in The Big Land, 1957.

Long Voyage Home, The (1940) -- (Movie Clip) This Ain't No Life Sailor Yank (Ward Bond) gravely injured in a storm at sea, Driscoll (Thomas Mitchell), Ole (John Wayne), Davis (Joseph Sawyer) and Axel (John Qualen) offering what support they can, in John Ford's The Long Voyage Home, 1940, adapted from Eugene O'Neill.

Larceny, Inc. (1942) -- (Movie Clip) I'm Allergic To Badges Ex-cons Pressure (Edward G. Robinson), Weepy (Edward Brophy) and Jug (Broderick Crawford) need to find a way to case the luggage store next door to the bank they're thinking about robbing, young Jackie Gleason the unwitting counter-man, early in Warner Bros.' Larceny Inc., 1942.

Farmer Takes A Wife, The (1935) -- (Movie Clip) Who Is That Lady? Notable as Henry Fonda’s first scene in his first movie, a new arrival in 1853 Rome, NY, after we meet Janet Gaynor as Molly, Charles Bickford as canal-boat captain Jotham, with Jane Withers, Margaret Hamilton, John Qualen, Andy Devine, Slim Summerville among the locals, in The Farmer Takes A Wife, 1935.

Counsellor At Law (1933) -- (Movie Clip) If You're Tired Of Living Empathetic lawyer Simon (John Barrymore), with employees (Isabel Jewell as “Bessie,” Bebe Daniels as “Rexy,”), is in a hurry to see ex-defendant Breitstein (John Qualen), for whom he justifiably faked an alibi years earlier, in Counsellor At Law, 1933, directed by William Wyler.

Our Daily Bread (1934) -- (Movie Clip) You Yoking? John (Tom Keene) begins work, Mary (Karen Morley) watching, and John Qualen (as "Chris") arrives with farming know-how and an early sample of his famous "Sveedish" accent, in King Vidor's Our Daily Bread, 1934.

Our Daily Bread (1934) -- (Movie Clip) Why Pay Rent? Values expressed with road signs in what later became Tarzana, California, as volunteers gather and get interviewed by farmer John (Tom Keene) in King Vidor's self-financed Depression drama Our Daily Bread, 1934.

Our Daily Bread (1934) -- (Movie Clip) We Start Here! John (Tom Keene) rouses the workers and Chris (John Qualen) breaks the earth as the collective farming begins in King Vidor's Depression drama Our Daily Bread, 1934.

Bibliography

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