NetflixMovies
John Qualen

Biography

John Qualen was a Canadian-American character actor who specialized in Scandinavian parts, often with comic accents. He was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, and left the University of Toronto after four years to join a traveling troupe. He worked the Chautauqua Circuit before his Broadway break in 1929, playing the janitor Carl Olsen in Elmer Rice's Street Scene; he repeated the part on screen in 1931. Arrowsmith followed, and began his long association with John Ford, which included The Searchers (1956) and Cheyenne Autumn (1964). Across more than a hundred films he appeared in The Grapes of Wrath (1940), His Girl Friday (1940), Casablanca (1942) and The High and the Mighty (1954), and he acted on television into the 1970s. A flautist from the age of eight, he also played with professional orchestras.

87years old at death

  • Born Vancouver
  • Died Torrance
  • Star sign: SagittariusThe sign runs November 22 to December 21

Movie Career

Films
46
Career span
37 years1931 to 1968

Genres

Photos

  • John Qualen, photo 1 of 3
  • John Qualen, photo 2 of 3
  • John Qualen, photo 3 of 3

Share

Did you know?!

  1. Big break

    Qualen's big break came on Broadway in 1929, playing the Swedish janitor Carl Olsen in Elmer Rice's play Street Scene. Two years later he re-created that role in the film adaptation, which began his movie career.

  2. First role

    Qualen began his career with the Chautauqua Circuit, driving stakes for a tent until he replaced a missing lecturer after showing the manager a high school oratory medal.

  3. Early training

    Qualen spent four years at the University of Toronto, then quit his studies to become an actor with a traveling troupe based in Toronto.

  4. Beyond film

    Qualen started playing the flute when he was eight. While studying at the University of Toronto he kept up his musical training, and later performed with professional orchestras such as the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra.

  5. Getting ready for a role

    In Ford's The Grapes of Wrath (1940), Qualen played Muley, a man who recounts how the bank destroyed his farm. Qualen used a Midwestern dialect, and his performance reportedly moved director Ford to tears.

John Qualen movies on Netflix

Best known for

The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.

Top of the page, the section list
  1. Casablanca1942 Drama, Romance, Waras Berger

    IMDb rating 8.5661K votes

  2. The Searchers1956 Adventure, Drama, Westernas Lars Jorgensen

    IMDb rating 7.8104K votes

  3. The Grapes of Wrath1940as Muley Bates

    IMDb rating 8.1108K votes

  4. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance1962as Peter Ericson

    IMDb rating 8.190K votes

  5. Jungle Book1942as The Barber

    IMDb rating 6.75.1K votes

  6. Anatomy of a Murder1959as Deputy Sheriff Sulo

    IMDb rating 8.079K votes

  7. Woman on the Run1950as Maibus

    IMDb rating 7.25.8K votes

  8. A Patch of Blue1965as Mr. Faber

    IMDb rating 8.010K votes

Most often with

John Ford directed six of these films, Henry Hathaway three and Lloyd Bacon two. John Wayne appears in eight of them, more than any other actor. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.

Top of the page, the section list

Films together

Box office

What John Qualen's films earned in cinemas worldwide.

Top of the page, the section list

Combined worldwide box office

$88.7 million

10 of the 46 films have a worldwide figure.

Of the 46 films: 10 worldwide figure; 3 us gross only; 33 figure not found.

  • 10Worldwide figure
  • 3US gross only
  • 33Figure not found

Highest grossing

The eight biggest films earned 94% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.

  1. 1
    The Sons of Katie Elder1965as Charlie Biller
    $23M25.9% of the total
  2. 2
    Jungle Book1942as The Barber
    $11M12.4% of the total
  3. 3
    Casablanca1942as Berger
    $10M11.8% of the total
  4. 4
    Elmer Gantry1960as Sam - Storekeeper
    $10M11.7% of the total
  5. 5
    Anatomy of a Murder1959as Deputy Sheriff Sulo
    $8.0M9.0% of the total
  6. 6
    $8.0M9.0% of the total
  7. 7
    A Patch of Blue1965as Mr. Faber
    $6.8M7.7% of the total
  8. 8
    The Sea Chase1955as Chief Engineer Schmitt
    $6.0M6.8% of the total
Arabian Nights (1942), $3.5 millionThe Grapes of Wrath (1940), $1.6 million

$5.0 millionfrom the other 2 films with a worldwide figure, 6% of the total