--- name: "Joe Sawyer" canonical: "https://film.one/person/joe-sawyer" roles: ["Actor"] born: "29 August 1906" died: "21 April 1982" reviewed_on_fi1m: 4 average_fi1m_score: 76 average_as: "actor" average_over: 4 updated: "2026-09-20T00:33:16.800272+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Joe Sawyer Actor. Born 29 August 1906 in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Died 21 April 1982. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 29 August 1906, Guelph, Ontario, Canada - **Died:** 21 April 1982 - **Active:** 1935–1941 - **Also known as:** Joe Sauers, Joe Sauer, Joseph Sauers, Joseph Sawyer - **Frequently works with:** [Dudley Nichols](https://film.one/person/dudley-nichols.md), [John Ford](https://film.one/person/john-ford.md) - **Average Fi1m score:** 76, as actor, over 4 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1930s 73 (1), 1940s 77 (3) - **Fi1m against the critics:** 76 to 74 across 4 titles - **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 0 under 60 - **Lead roles:** 0 of 2 acting credits billed first or second - **Genres:** Drama 4, War 2, Crime 1, History 1 - **Screen time:** 8 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $19m across 3 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Sawyer, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q460968, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0768178/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/3341 ## Streaming the US now - **HBO Max:** [*The Long Voyage Home*](https://film.one/film/the-long-voyage-home.md) (80) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Joe Sawyer > A stock company face: stocky, jutting chin, a voice pitched higher than the frame suggests, forever the sergeant, the cop or the man in the next bunk. Joe Sawyer was never the point of a film and was seldom the weak part of one. In *The Long Voyage Home* (1940), Ian Hunter's Smitty drinks alone, speaks properly and gives nothing away, and most of the crew are content to leave him to it. Joe Sawyer's Davis is the one who is not. He does very little about it, a look across the bunks, a word to the man beside him, and that is Sawyer's trade in one part. He is the fellow in the crowd who says out loud what the crowd is half thinking, and he says it in a voice higher than his build leads you to expect. He came up in bit parts in the early 1930s under his own name, Joseph Sauers, mostly as tough men and henchmen. *The Informer* (1935), in which he plays the gunman Bartly Mulholland, got him noticed and got him a contract at Warner Bros, and from there he worked steadily through the 1930s and 1940s in dozens of films. The parts had names like Spud, Slug and Whitey. He was cast as an Irishman often enough that most viewers took him for one; the surname says German. Ford used him five times, including a bookkeeper in *The Grapes of Wrath* (1940). Later there was Mike O'Reilly in *The Killing* (1956) and, for 96 episodes, Sgt. Biff O'Hara in *The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin* (1954–59), tough and kind-hearted, which is the Sawyer part written out in full. Our own review of *The Informer* found more to say about McLaglen's slow, frightened face and Steiner's score than about Sawyer, and that is the character actor's lot: when the job is done properly nobody writes it down. In *The Long Voyage Home* we did notice him. Davis is the one who decides Smitty's reticence is suspicious, and we were glad of him for it, because a ship full of men who all mind their own business is not a ship anyone would watch for long. It is a small thing, and it is what Ford's company existed to do around Mitchell and Fitzgerald: fill the ship with people who behave like people. The criticism is the obvious one, and it is fair. A long career was spent almost entirely in parts smaller than the man playing them, and the good notices, for *The Petrified Forest* (1936) among others, never turned into a lead. He was reliable, and reliable is what studios pay for and critics forget. Do not seek him out; watch for him instead. The next time a stocky sergeant with a jutting chin pipes up from the edge of a Ford frame, you will know who it is. ## Biography Joe Sawyer (born Joseph Sauer or Sauers) was a Canadian film and television actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1927 and 1962, often in supporting roles as tough characters such as sergeants, henchmen or lawmen, and was sometimes billed under his birth name. He trained at the Pasadena Playhouse. Among his film credits are *The Informer* (1935) as Bartly Mulholland, *The Petrified Forest* (1936), *The Grapes of Wrath* (1940), *Sergeant York* (1941), *Gilda* (1946), *The Killing* (1956) and *How the West Was Won* (1962). On television he played Sergeant Biff O'Hara in the series *The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin* (1954–1959) and appeared in guest roles in western and detective series including *Maverick*, *Sugarfoot*, *Bat Masterson* and *Frontier Doctor*. Sawyer was born on 29 August 1906 in Guelph, Ontario, and died on 21 April 1982 in Ashland, Oregon. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.* ## On Fi1m (4) - *Sergeant York* (1941), Fi1m 66, as Sergeant Early — [page](https://film.one/film/sergeant-york.md) - *The Grapes of Wrath* (1940), Fi1m 86, as Bookkeeper — [page](https://film.one/film/the-grapes-of-wrath.md) - *The Long Voyage Home* (1940), Fi1m 80, as Davis — [page](https://film.one/film/the-long-voyage-home.md) - *The Informer* (1935), Fi1m 73, as Bartly Mulholland — [page](https://film.one/film/the-informer.md) ## Complete filmography (192) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey* (1995), as Frank Daylon (archive footage) (uncredited) - *Legends of the West* (1992), as Curley Bill in 'Frontier Marshall' (archive footage) (uncredited) - *Rin-Tin-Tin: Hero of the West* (1991), as Sgt. Biff O'Hara - *How the West Was Won* (1962), as Riverboat Officer (uncredited) - *Everglades* (1961), series, Actor - *North to Alaska* (1960), as Land Commissioner - *Harrigan and Son* (1960), series, Actor - *Surfside 6* (1960), series, as Leon Huff - *Lock-Up* (1959), series, as Sgt. McEvoy - *Peter Gunn* (1958), series, Actor - *The Challenge of Rin Tin Tin* (1958), as Sgt. 'Biff' O'Hara - *Sugarfoot* (1957), series, as Fighting Sam Brown - *The Killing* (1956), as Mike O'Reilly - *The Kettles in the Ozarks* (1956), as Bancroft Baines - *The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin* (1954), series, Actor - *Johnny Dark* (1954), as Carl Svenson - *Riding Shotgun* (1954), as Tom Biggert - *Taza, Son of Cochise* (1954), as Sgt. Hamma - *It Came from Outer Space* (1953), as Frank Daylon - *The Abbott and Costello Show* (1952), series, as Chopper - *Mr. Walkie Talkie* (1952), as Sgt. Ames - *Deadline - U.S.A.* (1952), as Whitey Franks (uncredited) - *Red Skies of Montana* (1952), as R. A. 'Pop' Miller - *Indian Uprising* (1952), as Sgt. Maj. Phineas T. Keogh - *As You Were* (1951), as Sgt. Ames - *Comin' Round the Mountain* (1951), as Kalem McCoy - *Racket Squad* (1951), series, Actor - *Pride of Maryland* (1951), as Knuckles - *The Flying Missile* (1950), as Fuss Payne - *Curtain Call at Cactus Creek* (1950), as Jake - *Operation Haylift* (1950), as George Swallow · Producer, Writer - *Blondie's Hero* (1950), as Sergeant Gateson - *The Traveling Saleswoman* (1950), as Cactus Jack - *And Baby Makes Three* (1949), as Police officer - *Deputy Marshal* (1949), as Eli Cressett - *Kazan* (1949), as Sandz Jepson - *Stagecoach Kid* (1949), as Thatcher - *The Lucky Stiff* (1949), as Tony - *The Gay Amigo* (1949), as Sergeant McNulty - *Tucson* (1949), as Tod Bryant - *The Untamed Breed* (1948), as Hoy Keegan - *Ford Theatre* (1948), series, Actor - *Fighting Back* (1948), as Police Sergeant Scudder - *Coroner Creek* (1948), as Frank Yordy - *Fighting Father Dunne* (1948), as Steve Davis - *Here Comes Trouble* (1948), as Officer Ames - *Half Past Midnight* (1948), as Det. Lt. Joe Nash - *If You Knew Susie* (1948), as Zero Zantini - *A Double Life* (1947), as Pete Bonner - *Big Town After Dark* (1947), as Monk - *Roses Are Red* (1947), as Police Lt. Rocky Wall - *Christmas Eve* (1947), as Private Detective - *G.I. War Brides* (1946), as Sgt. Frank Moraski - *Inside Job* (1946), as Police Capt. Thomas - *The Runaround* (1946), as Hutchins - *Joe Palooka, Champ* (1946), as Lefty - *Gilda* (1946), as Casey - *Deadline at Dawn* (1946), as Babe Dooley - *The Naughty Nineties* (1945), as Bailey - *Brewster's Millions* (1945), as Hacky Smith - *High Powered* (1945), as Spike Kenny - *The Singing Sheriff* (1944), as Squint - *Raiders of Ghost City* (1944), as Idaho Jones - *South of Dixie* (1944), as Ernest Hatcher - *Hey, Rookie* (1944), as Sergeant - *Moon Over Las Vegas* (1944), as Joe - *Tarzan's Desert Mystery* (1943), as Karl Straeder - *Sleepy Lagoon* (1943), as Lumpy - *Tornado* (1943), as Charlie Muscles - *Let's Face It* (1943), as Sgt. Wiggins - *Yanks Ahoy* (1943), as Sgt. Ames - *Alaska Highway* (1943), as Roughhouse - *Hit the Ice* (1943), as Buster - *Prairie Chickens* (1943), as Albertson - *Cowboy in Manhattan* (1943), as Louie - *Buckskin Frontier* (1943), as Brannigan - *Taxi, Mister* (1943), as Eddie Corbett - *The Outlaw* (1943), as Charley Woodruff - *The McGuerins from Brooklyn* (1942), as Eddie Corbett - *Fall In* (1942), as Sgt. Ames - *Wrecking Crew* (1942), as Fred Bunce - *A Letter From Bataan* (1942), as Roy - John's Brother-in-Law - *About Face* (1942), as Sgt. William Ames - *Sundown Jim* (1942), as Ben Moffitt - *Brooklyn Orchid* (1942), as Eddie Corbett - *Hay Foot* (1942), as Sergeant Ames - *You're in the Army Now* (1941), as Sergeant Madden - *They Died with Their Boots On* (1941), as Sgt. Doolittle - *Swamp Water* (1941), as Hardy Ragan - *Down Mexico Way* (1941), as Allen - *Sergeant York* (1941), as Sergeant Early — Fi1m 66, [page](https://film.one/film/sergeant-york.md) - *Last of the Duanes* (1941), as Bull Lossomer - *Belle Starr* (1941), as John Cole - *Tanks a Million* (1941), as Sgt. William Ames - *Down in San Diego* (1941), as Dutch - *The Lady from Cheyenne* (1941), as Sheriff 'Noisy' Burkett, Henchman - *Santa Fe Trail* (1940), as Kitzmiller - *The Border Legion* (1940), as Jim Gulden - *The Long Voyage Home* (1940), as Davis — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/the-long-voyage-home.md) - *Melody Ranch* (1940), as Jasper Wildhack - *Wildcat Bus* (1940), as Burke - *Lucky Cisco Kid* (1940), as Bill Stevens - *Dark Command* (1940), as Bushropp - *King of the Lumberjacks* (1940), as Jigger - *The Grapes of Wrath* (1940), as Bookkeeper — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/film/the-grapes-of-wrath.md) - *Women Without Names* (1940), as Principal Keeper Grimley - *The House Across the Bay* (1940), as Charlie - *Honeymoon Deferred* (1940), as Detective James - *The Man from Montreal* (1939), as Biff Anders (as Joseph Sawyer) - *The Roaring Twenties* (1939), as The Sergeant - *Sabotage* (1939), as Gardner - *I Stole a Million* (1939), as Billings - *Frontier Marshal* (1939), as Curley Bill - *Inside Information* (1939), as Detective Grazzi - *Confessions of a Nazi Spy* (1939), as Werner Renz - *Union Pacific* (1939), as Shamus (uncredited) - *The Lady and the Mob* (1939), as Blinky Mack - *You Can't Get Away with Murder* (1939), as Red - *Gambling Ship* (1938), as Tony Garzoni - *Heart of the North* (1938), as Red Crocker - *Always in Trouble* (1938), as Buster Mussendorfer - *The Storm* (1938), as Kelly - *Passport Husband* (1938), as Duke Selton - *Stolen Heaven* (1938), as Bako - *Tarzan's Revenge* (1938), as Olaf Punch - *Behind the Criminal* (1937), as Red Manders - *The Lady Fights Back* (1937), as Swede Jannsen - *Reported Missing* (1937), as 'Brad' Martin - *A Dangerous Adventure* (1937), as Dutch - *Midnight Madonna* (1937), as Wolfe - *Slim* (1937), as Windy Wilcox - *San Quentin* (1937), as 'Sailor Boy' Hansen - *They Gave Him a Gun* (1937), as Doyle - Gangster (uncredited) - *Motor Madness* (1937), as Steve Dolan - *Navy Blues* (1937), as Chips - *Black Legion* (1937), as Cliff Summers - *Great Guy* (1936), as Joe Burton - *Rose Bowl* (1936), as Announcer - *The Accusing Finger* (1936), as Father Regan, chaplain - *Two in a Crowd* (1936), as Bonelli's Henchman - *Murder with Pictures* (1936), as Inspector Tom Bacon - *Crash Donovan* (1936), as Henchman (uncredited) - *A Son Comes Home* (1936), as First Truck Driver - *High Tension* (1936), as Terry Madden - *And Sudden Death* (1936), as Police Sgt. Sanborn - *Special Investigator* (1936), as Jim Plummer - *Big Brown Eyes* (1936), as Jack Sully - *Pride of the Marines* (1936), as Tennessee - *The Country Doctor* (1936), as Joe, the Logger Lifting Log (uncredited) - *The Walking Dead* (1936), as 'Trigger' Smith - *The Leathernecks Have Landed* (1936), as Sgt. Regan - *The Petrified Forest* (1936), as Jackie - *Freshman Love* (1936), as Coach Kendall - *Man of Iron* (1935), as Crawford - *Frisco Kid* (1935), as Slugs Crippen (as Joseph Sawyer) - *I Found Stella Parish* (1935), as Chuck (as Joseph Sawyer) - *Moonlight on the Prairie* (1935), as Luke Thomas - *Special Agent* (1935), as Rich - Chief Henchman - *Little Big Shot* (1935), as Doré's Henchman - *Broadway Gondolier* (1935), as 'Red' - *The Arizonian* (1935), as Henchman Keeler - *The Informer* (1935), as Bartly Mulholland — Fi1m 73, [page](https://film.one/film/the-informer.md) - *Car 99* (1935), as Whitey, burly henchman - *The Whole Town's Talking* (1935), as Mannion's Thug (uncredited) - *Sequoia* (1935), as Forest Ranger (uncredited) - *The Band Plays On* (1934), as Mr. Thomas - *The Westerner* (1934), as Bob Lockhart - *College Rhythm* (1934), as Spud Miller - *The Prescott Kid* (1934), as Marshal Willoughby - *Gridiron Flash* (1934), as Coach Eversmith - *The Case of the Howling Dog* (1934), as Carl Trask (uncredited) - *Death on the Diamond* (1934), as "Dunc" Spencer - *The Notorious Sophie Lang* (1934), as Building Guard (uncredited) - *Sing and Like It* (1934), as Gunner - Hood - *Looking for Trouble* (1934), as Max Stanley - *Jimmy the Gent* (1934), as Mike (uncredited) - *Son of a Sailor* (1933), as Slug - *Eskimo* (1933), as Sergeant Hunt (uncredited) - *College Coach* (1933), as Holcomb - *Ace of Aces* (1933), as Captain Daly - *Saturday's Millions* (1933), as Coach - *Golden Harvest* (1933), as Farmhand (uncredited) - *Three Cornered Moon* (1933), as Head Lifeguard (uncredited) - *The Stranger's Return* (1933), as Thresher - *College Humor* (1933), as Tex Roust (as Joseph Sauers) - *Hold Your Man* (1933), as Policeman at Reformatory (uncredited) - *Olsen’s Big Moment* (1933), as Dapper' Danny Reynolds - *Huddle* (1932), as Slater - *Arsène Lupin* (1932), as Leroux (uncredited) - *Maker of Men* (1931), as Bennett the Monroe Coach (uncredited) - *The Public Enemy* (1931), as Pool Player (uncredited) - *Campus Sweethearts* (1930), Actor ## Gallery - ![Joe Sawyer](https://film.one/media/person/1228180/gallery-d9dd684ecc5d.jpg) Joe Sawyer — D. Ross Lederman, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Joe_Sawyer_Tarzan%27s_Revenge_%281938%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Joe Sawyer](https://film.one/media/person/1228180/gallery-73d6460c34ba.jpg) Joe Sawyer — Image via TMDB - ![Joe Sawyer](https://film.one/media/person/1228180/gallery-13643c2c9640.jpg) Joe Sawyer — Image via TMDB --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/joe-sawyer