Serbian actor Gojko Mitić (1940) was the most famous Indian in Eastern Europe. The handsome star played in numerous Westerns in East Germany between 1966 and 1984. He also worked as a director, stuntman, and author.
East German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 2401, 1966. Retail price: 0,15 MDN. Photo: Hans-Joachim Kundt. Publicity still for Die Söhne der grossen Bärin / The Sons of Great Bear (Josef Mach, 1966).
German postcard, no. R 5. Photo: Gojko Mitić and Pierre Brice in Winnetou II. Teil / Winnetou: The Red Gentleman (Harald Reinl, 1964). Caption: Winnetou has won the Assiniboins for his plans, and they choose to negotiate with the white in Fort Niobara. This message goes to all chiefs.
East German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 2861, 1967. Retail price: 0,20 M. Photo: Schwarz.
East German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Verleih, Berlin, no. 9/76. Photo: DEFA / Blümel. Armin Mueller-Stahl and Gojko Mitić in Tödlicher Irrtum / Fatal Error (Konrad Petzold, 1970). Caption: Two of the oil sharks, which are commissioned by the capital-heavy Mr Allison, are placed. But what is the use of that for Shave Head? His half-brother, the assistant sheriff Chris Howard, has paid with his life. As many chieftains before him, Shave Head had thought that Indians could be partakers of the wealth of the oil wells found on the reservation sites.
Romanian postcard by Casa Filmului Acin, no. 43079.
Gojko Mitić (Гojкo Митић) was born in the little village of Leskovac, Kingdom of Yugoslavia (now Serbia) in 1940. He spent his childhood there, but when he grew up, he went to Belgrade, where he studied at the Sports School.
In the early 1960s, a lot of foreign productions were shot in Belgrade. Mitić was cast as a stuntman for some of these films, often German-French-Yugoslav coproductions. Mitic also started to play small parts in these Euro-Westerns.
Examples are the Karl May adaptations Winnetou - 1. Teil / Apache Gold (Harald Reinl, 1963), Old Shatterhand / Apache's Last Battle (Hugo Fregonese, 1964) and Winnetou - 2. Teil / The Last of the Renegades (Harald Reinl, 1964), all starring Lex Barker and Pierre Brice.
He had a bigger part in the Western Unter Geiern / Among Vultures (Alfred Vohrer, 1964) starring Stewart Granger.
Then he was offered the lead role as Tokei-Into in the Western Die Söhne der großen Bärin / The Sons of Great Bear (Josef Mach, 1966), produced by the East German DEFA studios in Babelsberg. The hero was – like Winnetou - a native American, rather than a white settler as in John Ford's Hollywood Westerns. The film was a huge success, and this was the start of a great career in East Germany.
German postcard, no. 10. Photo: Constantin. Publicity still for Unter Geiern / Among Vultures (Alfred Vohrer, 1964) with Pierre Brice and Stewart Granger. Caption: Winnetou has watched the raid from a hill. Everyone agrees that it can only be the infamous Vultures gang. Wokadeh should also be eliminated because he knew too much about the bandit raid on Baumann's Ranch.
German postcard, no. 33. Photo: Rialto / Constantin. Pierre Brice, Stewart Granger and Gojko Mitić in Unter Geiern / Among Vultures (Alfred Vohrer, 1964). Old Surehand and Winnetou release Wolkadeh from his bonds. He is to decide as a free man and lead Old Surehand as a guest to the ‘Council of Elders’ to negotiate Baumann's fate.
German postcard, no. 35. Photo: Constantin. Publicity still for Unter Geiern / Among Vultures (Alfred Vohrer, 1964) with Pierre Brice and Stewart Granger.
German postcard, no. 38. Photo: Constantin. Stewart Granger as Old Surehand and Gojko Mitić in Unter Geiern / Among Vultures (Alfred Vohrer, 1964). Caption: God's judgment has spoken: Old Surehand is free and hurries to the trek.
German postcard, no. 40. Photo: Constantin. Publicity still for Unter Geiern / Among Vultures (Alfred Vohrer, 1964) with Pierre Brice and Gojko Mitić. Caption: Wokadeh and his warriors, the chief at Winnetou's side, ride into the 'valley of death' to bury Oitka-Peteh. The valley is a place of Desolation. Wokadeh now recognises the true bandits; he lets Baumann free and promises Winnetou to help in the hunt for the Vultures.
Between 1966 and 1984, Gojko Mitić starred in 12 DEFA Westerns in which he always played the leading role of an Indian. His second DEFA film was Chingachgook, die Grosse Schlange / Chingachgook: The Great Snake (Richard Groschopp, 1966) with Rolf Römer. It was an adaptation of a novel by James Fenimore Cooper, and another great success.
It was followed by a long row of Westerns, including Spur des Falken / Trail of the Falcon (Gottfried Kolditz, 1968) with Rolf Hoppe, Weisse Wölfe / White Wolves (Konrad Petzold, Bosko Boskovic, 1969) with Barbara Brylska, and Osceola (1971, Konrad Petzold) with Iurie Darie.
Then followed Ulzana (Gottfried Kolditz, 1974) opposite Renate Blume, Blutsbruder / Blood Brothers (Werner W. Wallroth, 1975) with the American communist film star Dean Reed, and Severino (Claus Dobberke, 1978).
They all achieved success, but Mitic was always dubbed because of his accent. These films showed the life of the Indians, their suffering and adventures, and became popular even in the USA, according to V. Dorbomir at IMDb.
The muscled Mitic was an idol in the communist countries, and many women were attracted to the glamorous star. He had a love affair with the popular German actress Renate Blume, but they split up.
East German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 2930, 1967. Retail price: 0,20 MDN. Photo: Pathenheimer / DEFA.
East German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 118/69, 1969. Retail price: 0,20 MDN. Photo: Bläsig. Gojko Mitić in Weisse Wölfe / White Wolves (Bosko Boskovic, Konrad Petzold, 1969).
East German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 194/71, 1971. Retail price: 0,20 M. Photo: Schwarz.
East German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 92/73, 1973. Retail price: 0,20 M. Photo: Schwarz.
East German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, no. 65/74, 1974. Photo: DEFA / Dassdorf. Gojko Mitić and Renate Blume in Ulzana (Gottfried Kolditz, 1974).
In an attempt to move away from his fame as an Indian, Gojko Mitić increasingly sought to appear in other genres, as the comedy Der lange Ritt zur Schule / The Long Ride to School (Rolf Losansky, 1982). In his later career, he appeared mainly on stage and on TV. He made the popular television series Archiv des Todes / Archives of death (Rudi Kurz, 1980) with Leon Niemczyk. On stage, he played Spartacus.
After the end of the GDR, Gojko Mitic was still very popular. He presented several TV shows and played a role in an episode of the series Schloss Einstein. He also played Winnetou in seasons at the Karl-May-Festspiele in Bad Segeberg near Hamburg, Germany, till 2006. These performances were also filmed for TV.
His later film appearances were supporting parts in such films as Der Kinoerzähler / The Film Narrator (Bernhard Sinkel, 1993) starring Armin Mueller-Stahl, Burning Life (Peter Welz, 1994) with Maria Schrader, and the Horror film The Antman (Christoph Gampl, 2002).
He appeared as Intschu Tschuna in Winnetou & Old Shatterhand (Philipp Stölzl, 2016). Ma Cortes at IMDb: "This agreeable saga benefits from marvellous scenarios, shootouts, and larger-than-life roles. The film displays colourful and rousing cinematography with wonderful outdoor scenes. Being shot in similar Yugoslav landscapes from the Lex Barker / Pierre Brice series, it pays a nice tribute to the vintage movies. Gojko Mitić's most recent film is the family comedy Alfons Zitterbacke - Endlich Klassenfahrt! / Alfons Jitterbit - Class Trip Chaos! (Mark Schlichter, 2022).
Bulgarian punk rock & ska group Hipodil has a song, 'Bate Goiko', dedicated to and speaking about Gojko Mitić. Neither the song nor the name of Gojko Mitić is widely known in modern Serbia. Moreover, had Mitić not been the recipient of the Brothers Karić Award in 2010, most of the people in Serbia would have never heard his name. His adult life and career are based in Germany. He lives in Berlin, and continues to be one of the most vivid memories from the former East Germany.
German postcard, no. 31 (of 64). Photo: Constantin. Stewart Granger as Old Surehand and Gojko Mitić as Wokadeh in Unter Geiern/Among Vultures (Alfred Vohrer, 1964). Caption: The bound Baumann sits opposite the dead chief as Wokadeh takes over the guard. Old Surehand silently approaches the tent, overpowers the sentry, binds Wokadeh, and kidnaps him.
East German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Verleih, Berlin, no. 89/69. Photo: DEFA / Rambo. Gojko Mitić in Weisse Wölfe / White Wolves (Konrad Petzold, Bosko Boskovic, 1969).
Trailer for Unter Geiern / Among Vultures (1964). Source: RialtoFilm (YouTube).
American trailer for three 'Westerns from the East'. Source: Leona 1940 (YouTube).
Sources: V. Dobromir (IMDb), Wikipedia, and IMDb.
This post was last updated on 29 September 2025.
East German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 2401, 1966. Retail price: 0,15 MDN. Photo: Hans-Joachim Kundt. Publicity still for Die Söhne der grossen Bärin / The Sons of Great Bear (Josef Mach, 1966).
German postcard, no. R 5. Photo: Gojko Mitić and Pierre Brice in Winnetou II. Teil / Winnetou: The Red Gentleman (Harald Reinl, 1964). Caption: Winnetou has won the Assiniboins for his plans, and they choose to negotiate with the white in Fort Niobara. This message goes to all chiefs.
East German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 2861, 1967. Retail price: 0,20 M. Photo: Schwarz.
East German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Verleih, Berlin, no. 9/76. Photo: DEFA / Blümel. Armin Mueller-Stahl and Gojko Mitić in Tödlicher Irrtum / Fatal Error (Konrad Petzold, 1970). Caption: Two of the oil sharks, which are commissioned by the capital-heavy Mr Allison, are placed. But what is the use of that for Shave Head? His half-brother, the assistant sheriff Chris Howard, has paid with his life. As many chieftains before him, Shave Head had thought that Indians could be partakers of the wealth of the oil wells found on the reservation sites.
Romanian postcard by Casa Filmului Acin, no. 43079.
Euro-Westerns
Gojko Mitić (Гojкo Митић) was born in the little village of Leskovac, Kingdom of Yugoslavia (now Serbia) in 1940. He spent his childhood there, but when he grew up, he went to Belgrade, where he studied at the Sports School.
In the early 1960s, a lot of foreign productions were shot in Belgrade. Mitić was cast as a stuntman for some of these films, often German-French-Yugoslav coproductions. Mitic also started to play small parts in these Euro-Westerns.
Examples are the Karl May adaptations Winnetou - 1. Teil / Apache Gold (Harald Reinl, 1963), Old Shatterhand / Apache's Last Battle (Hugo Fregonese, 1964) and Winnetou - 2. Teil / The Last of the Renegades (Harald Reinl, 1964), all starring Lex Barker and Pierre Brice.
He had a bigger part in the Western Unter Geiern / Among Vultures (Alfred Vohrer, 1964) starring Stewart Granger.
Then he was offered the lead role as Tokei-Into in the Western Die Söhne der großen Bärin / The Sons of Great Bear (Josef Mach, 1966), produced by the East German DEFA studios in Babelsberg. The hero was – like Winnetou - a native American, rather than a white settler as in John Ford's Hollywood Westerns. The film was a huge success, and this was the start of a great career in East Germany.
German postcard, no. 10. Photo: Constantin. Publicity still for Unter Geiern / Among Vultures (Alfred Vohrer, 1964) with Pierre Brice and Stewart Granger. Caption: Winnetou has watched the raid from a hill. Everyone agrees that it can only be the infamous Vultures gang. Wokadeh should also be eliminated because he knew too much about the bandit raid on Baumann's Ranch.
German postcard, no. 33. Photo: Rialto / Constantin. Pierre Brice, Stewart Granger and Gojko Mitić in Unter Geiern / Among Vultures (Alfred Vohrer, 1964). Old Surehand and Winnetou release Wolkadeh from his bonds. He is to decide as a free man and lead Old Surehand as a guest to the ‘Council of Elders’ to negotiate Baumann's fate.
German postcard, no. 35. Photo: Constantin. Publicity still for Unter Geiern / Among Vultures (Alfred Vohrer, 1964) with Pierre Brice and Stewart Granger.
German postcard, no. 38. Photo: Constantin. Stewart Granger as Old Surehand and Gojko Mitić in Unter Geiern / Among Vultures (Alfred Vohrer, 1964). Caption: God's judgment has spoken: Old Surehand is free and hurries to the trek.
German postcard, no. 40. Photo: Constantin. Publicity still for Unter Geiern / Among Vultures (Alfred Vohrer, 1964) with Pierre Brice and Gojko Mitić. Caption: Wokadeh and his warriors, the chief at Winnetou's side, ride into the 'valley of death' to bury Oitka-Peteh. The valley is a place of Desolation. Wokadeh now recognises the true bandits; he lets Baumann free and promises Winnetou to help in the hunt for the Vultures.
American communist film star
Between 1966 and 1984, Gojko Mitić starred in 12 DEFA Westerns in which he always played the leading role of an Indian. His second DEFA film was Chingachgook, die Grosse Schlange / Chingachgook: The Great Snake (Richard Groschopp, 1966) with Rolf Römer. It was an adaptation of a novel by James Fenimore Cooper, and another great success.
It was followed by a long row of Westerns, including Spur des Falken / Trail of the Falcon (Gottfried Kolditz, 1968) with Rolf Hoppe, Weisse Wölfe / White Wolves (Konrad Petzold, Bosko Boskovic, 1969) with Barbara Brylska, and Osceola (1971, Konrad Petzold) with Iurie Darie.
Then followed Ulzana (Gottfried Kolditz, 1974) opposite Renate Blume, Blutsbruder / Blood Brothers (Werner W. Wallroth, 1975) with the American communist film star Dean Reed, and Severino (Claus Dobberke, 1978).
They all achieved success, but Mitic was always dubbed because of his accent. These films showed the life of the Indians, their suffering and adventures, and became popular even in the USA, according to V. Dorbomir at IMDb.
The muscled Mitic was an idol in the communist countries, and many women were attracted to the glamorous star. He had a love affair with the popular German actress Renate Blume, but they split up.
East German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 2930, 1967. Retail price: 0,20 MDN. Photo: Pathenheimer / DEFA.
East German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 118/69, 1969. Retail price: 0,20 MDN. Photo: Bläsig. Gojko Mitić in Weisse Wölfe / White Wolves (Bosko Boskovic, Konrad Petzold, 1969).
East German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 194/71, 1971. Retail price: 0,20 M. Photo: Schwarz.
East German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 92/73, 1973. Retail price: 0,20 M. Photo: Schwarz.
East German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, no. 65/74, 1974. Photo: DEFA / Dassdorf. Gojko Mitić and Renate Blume in Ulzana (Gottfried Kolditz, 1974).
Spartacus
In an attempt to move away from his fame as an Indian, Gojko Mitić increasingly sought to appear in other genres, as the comedy Der lange Ritt zur Schule / The Long Ride to School (Rolf Losansky, 1982). In his later career, he appeared mainly on stage and on TV. He made the popular television series Archiv des Todes / Archives of death (Rudi Kurz, 1980) with Leon Niemczyk. On stage, he played Spartacus.
After the end of the GDR, Gojko Mitic was still very popular. He presented several TV shows and played a role in an episode of the series Schloss Einstein. He also played Winnetou in seasons at the Karl-May-Festspiele in Bad Segeberg near Hamburg, Germany, till 2006. These performances were also filmed for TV.
His later film appearances were supporting parts in such films as Der Kinoerzähler / The Film Narrator (Bernhard Sinkel, 1993) starring Armin Mueller-Stahl, Burning Life (Peter Welz, 1994) with Maria Schrader, and the Horror film The Antman (Christoph Gampl, 2002).
He appeared as Intschu Tschuna in Winnetou & Old Shatterhand (Philipp Stölzl, 2016). Ma Cortes at IMDb: "This agreeable saga benefits from marvellous scenarios, shootouts, and larger-than-life roles. The film displays colourful and rousing cinematography with wonderful outdoor scenes. Being shot in similar Yugoslav landscapes from the Lex Barker / Pierre Brice series, it pays a nice tribute to the vintage movies. Gojko Mitić's most recent film is the family comedy Alfons Zitterbacke - Endlich Klassenfahrt! / Alfons Jitterbit - Class Trip Chaos! (Mark Schlichter, 2022).
Bulgarian punk rock & ska group Hipodil has a song, 'Bate Goiko', dedicated to and speaking about Gojko Mitić. Neither the song nor the name of Gojko Mitić is widely known in modern Serbia. Moreover, had Mitić not been the recipient of the Brothers Karić Award in 2010, most of the people in Serbia would have never heard his name. His adult life and career are based in Germany. He lives in Berlin, and continues to be one of the most vivid memories from the former East Germany.
German postcard, no. 31 (of 64). Photo: Constantin. Stewart Granger as Old Surehand and Gojko Mitić as Wokadeh in Unter Geiern/Among Vultures (Alfred Vohrer, 1964). Caption: The bound Baumann sits opposite the dead chief as Wokadeh takes over the guard. Old Surehand silently approaches the tent, overpowers the sentry, binds Wokadeh, and kidnaps him.
East German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Verleih, Berlin, no. 89/69. Photo: DEFA / Rambo. Gojko Mitić in Weisse Wölfe / White Wolves (Konrad Petzold, Bosko Boskovic, 1969).
Trailer for Unter Geiern / Among Vultures (1964). Source: RialtoFilm (YouTube).
American trailer for three 'Westerns from the East'. Source: Leona 1940 (YouTube).
Sources: V. Dobromir (IMDb), Wikipedia, and IMDb.
This post was last updated on 29 September 2025.
No comments:
Post a Comment