The Sons of Great Bear
Encyclopedia
The Sons of Great Bear is a German language
Red Western
of 1966, directed by Josef Mach
. The main characters are based on the books of Liselotte Welskopf-Henrich with the same name, which have been very successful, especially in East Germany. The name is sometimes liberally translated as The Sons of the Great Mother Bear to emphasise the feminine noun.
as the heroes, rather than white settlers as in American Westerns.
It was also dubbed into the Russian language
as Сыновья Большой Медведицы.
Yugoslavia
n (Serbia
n) sports teacher Gojko Mitić
took the lead role, effectively launching his career. He plays the young chief Tokei-itho of the Dakota tribe
who have been driven from their reservation by corrupt, sadistic and self-serving invaders. He became honorary chief of the tribe of Sioux, when he visited the United States of America
in the 1990s, and the television-team accompanying him showed the tribe one of his movies.
, the white settlers still want to lay their hands on it, due to the recent discovery of gold
. The main villain, Red Fox (named in English in the original) demands that Mattotaupa, chief of the Bear's tribe reveal the location of the cave with the gold. When Mattotaupa refuses, Red Fox stabs him.
When Lieutenant Roach orders Tokei-itho to come to Fort Smith for 'negotiations', Tokei-itho suspects an ambush. He refuses to move the tribe to an infertile area away from their reservation and so the tribe is forcibly moved by the American army from the land of their forefathers and the young chief incarcerated. On his release Tokei-itho learns of the murder of Tashunka-witko (Crazy Horse
), another tribesman.
Finally, the Indians are forced to cross the Missouri River
over the Border into Canada
in the hope of a better life. But while they are crossing the river, Tokei-itho must deal with his mortal enemy Red Fox, the murderer of his father, and settle the score.
It is notable that the film does not completely equate evil characters with white settlers and good ones with Natives: early in the film, one of the older military men at Fort Smith is actually quite sympathetic to them, and the white predators led by Red Fox also have Indian trackers from another tribe. Red Fox himself got his name from a native initiation, and by trying to pass himself off as a semi-Indian/native gets what he wants.
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
Red Western
Ostern
The Ostern or Red Western was the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc countries' take on the Western.It generally took two forms:...
of 1966, directed by Josef Mach
Josef Mach
Josef Mach was a Czech actor, screenwriter and film director.Josef Mach worked as a journalist and stage performer at the beginning of his career, then in 1938 was appointed assistant director of short films at Grafo Film Studio working with director Václav Kubásek...
. The main characters are based on the books of Liselotte Welskopf-Henrich with the same name, which have been very successful, especially in East Germany. The name is sometimes liberally translated as The Sons of the Great Mother Bear to emphasise the feminine noun.
Film
It was the first of a series of successful Westerns from the GDR DEFA Studios, featuring Native AmericansIndigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
as the heroes, rather than white settlers as in American Westerns.
It was also dubbed into the Russian language
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
as Сыновья Большой Медведицы.
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
n (Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n) sports teacher Gojko Mitić
Gojko Mitic
Gojko Mitić is a Serbian director, actor, stuntman, and author. He lives in Berlin....
took the lead role, effectively launching his career. He plays the young chief Tokei-itho of the Dakota tribe
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
who have been driven from their reservation by corrupt, sadistic and self-serving invaders. He became honorary chief of the tribe of Sioux, when he visited the United States of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the 1990s, and the television-team accompanying him showed the tribe one of his movies.
Plot
Although the Indians are assured by contract of their land in the Black HillsBlack Hills
The Black Hills are a small, isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, USA. Set off from the main body of the Rocky Mountains, the region is something of a geological anomaly—accurately described as an "island of...
, the white settlers still want to lay their hands on it, due to the recent discovery of gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
. The main villain, Red Fox (named in English in the original) demands that Mattotaupa, chief of the Bear's tribe reveal the location of the cave with the gold. When Mattotaupa refuses, Red Fox stabs him.
When Lieutenant Roach orders Tokei-itho to come to Fort Smith for 'negotiations', Tokei-itho suspects an ambush. He refuses to move the tribe to an infertile area away from their reservation and so the tribe is forcibly moved by the American army from the land of their forefathers and the young chief incarcerated. On his release Tokei-itho learns of the murder of Tashunka-witko (Crazy Horse
Crazy Horse
Crazy Horse was a Native American war leader of the Oglala Lakota. He took up arms against the U.S...
), another tribesman.
Finally, the Indians are forced to cross the Missouri River
Missouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
over the Border into Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in the hope of a better life. But while they are crossing the river, Tokei-itho must deal with his mortal enemy Red Fox, the murderer of his father, and settle the score.
It is notable that the film does not completely equate evil characters with white settlers and good ones with Natives: early in the film, one of the older military men at Fort Smith is actually quite sympathetic to them, and the white predators led by Red Fox also have Indian trackers from another tribe. Red Fox himself got his name from a native initiation, and by trying to pass himself off as a semi-Indian/native gets what he wants.
Cast
- Gojko MitićGojko MiticGojko Mitić is a Serbian director, actor, stuntman, and author. He lives in Berlin....
: Tokei-ihto - Jiří Vršťala: Red Fox
- Rolf Römer: Tobias Wolfshäuptling
- Hans Hardt-Hardtloff: Major Samuel Smith
- Gerhard Rachold: Leutnant Roach
- Horst Jonischkan: Adams
- Jozef Majerčík: Tschetansapa
- Jozef Adamovič: Tschapa
- Milan Jablonský: Donner vom Berge
- Hannjo HasseHannjo Hasse-Biography:Hasse began studying acting in 1938, and attended Lily Ackermann's Institute for Stage Artists' Education in Berlin. At 1941, he was drafted for the Labour Service, and later to the Army...
: Pitt - Helmut Schreiber: Ben
- Rolf Ripperger: Joe
- Brigitte Krause: Jenny
- Karin Beewen: Cate Smith
- Ruth Kommerell: Tashina
- Kati Székely: Uinonah
"Die Söhne der Großen Bärin" series
- Harka
- Der Weg in die Verbannung
- Die Höhle in den schwarzen Bergen
- Heimkehr zu den Dakota
- Der junge Häuptling
- Über den Missouri
"Das Blut des Adlers" series
- Nacht über der Prärie
- Licht über weißen Felsen
- Stein mit Hörnern
- Der siebenstufige Berg
- Das helle Gesicht