''The Defection of Simas Kudirka'' is a 1978 American made-for-television

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

based on actual events, featuring

Alan Arkin Alan Wolf Arkin (born March 26, 1934) is an American actor, director and screenwriter known for his performances on stage and screen. Throughout his career spanning over six decades, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award ...

Simas Kudirka Simas Kurdika (9 April 1930 – 11 February 2023) was a Lithuanian sailor. He is best known for the attempted defection from the Soviet Union in 1970 and subsequent activism against the Soviet regime in Lithuania. An important outcome of the in ...

, a Lithuanian merchant seaman who attempts to defect from the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

by jumping onto a U.S. Coast Guard cutter. Among the movie's awards are two Emmys wins and three more Emmy nominations. The movie was directed by

David Lowell Rich David Lowell Rich (August 31, 1920 – October 21, 2001) was an American film director and producer. He directed nearly 100 films and TV episodes between 1950 and 1987. He was born in New York City. He began directing on a regular basis in 1 ...

Plot

The movie revolves around the true events of a Lithuanian man,

, who was at the time a radio operator on a Soviet fish processing vessel. When his ship meets at sea with a U.S. Coast Guard cutter near

Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the Northeastern United States, located south of Cape Cod in Dukes County, Massachusetts, known for being a popular, affluent summer colony. Martha's Vineyard includes the ...

in 1970, Kudirka makes a dramatic leap from the deck, landing on the USCGC ''Vigilant''. He announces that he wishes to defect, but confusion over U.S. policy on defections prevents the Americans from offering him asylum. As the crew of the ''Vigilant'' looks on, Soviet officers are allowed to board the cutter, beat and bind Kudirka, and drag him back to the Soviet ship. This tinderbox political incident occurs during a Soviet/U.S. conference over fishing rights.Allmovie.com
- The Defection of Simas KudirkaTurner Classic Movies
- Overview for ''The Defection of Simas Kudirka''

Cast

Richard Jordan Robert Anson Jordan Jr. (July 19, 1937 – August 30, 1993) was an American actor. A long-time member of the New York Shakespeare Festival, he performed in many Off Broadway and Broadway plays. His films include '' Logan's Run'', ''Les Misér ...

as Commander Edward Devon *

Donald Pleasence Donald Henry Pleasence (; 5 October 1919 – 2 February 1995) was an English actor. He began his career on stage in the West End before transitioning into a screen career, where he played numerous supporting and character roles including RAF ...

as Vladimir Popov *

George Dzundza George Dzundza ( ; born July 19, 1945) is an American television and film actor. Early life and education Dzundza was born in Rosenheim, Germany, to a Ukrainian-Jewish father, Roman Dzundza, originally from Kalush, Ukraine, and a Polish-Jewish m ...

as Gruzauskas * Nicholas Guest as Baltrunar * Shirley Knight as Genna Kudirka *

John McMartin John Francis McMartin (August 21, 1929 – July 6, 2016) was an American actor of stage, film and television. Life and career McMartin was born in Warsaw, Indiana, on August 21, 1929, and raised in St. Cloud, Minnesota. After graduating fro ...

as Phillip Chadway *

Ted Shackelford Theodore Tillman Shackelford III (born June 23, 1946) is an American actor. He played Gary Ewing in the CBS television series ''Dallas'' and ''Knots Landing'' (1979–1993); since 2006, he has appeared in a recurring role on the CBS soap ''The Yo ...

as Blain * Barton Heyman as Dr. Paegle *Joyce Vining Morgan as Mrs. Paegle *

Jack Blessing Jack Blessing (July 29, 1951 – November 14, 2017) was an American film and television actor. He was notable for his roles as MacGillicuddy on '' Moonlighting'' and as Jack Powers in the sitcom ''George Lopez''. He also had a recurring role ...

as Kabek

Production

The movie was filmed in

Portsmouth, New Hampshire Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on the Piscataqua River bordering the state of Maine, Portsm ...

, the

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, often called the Portsmouth Navy Yard, is a United States Navy shipyard in Kittery on the southern boundary of Maine near the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Founded in 1800, PNS is U.S. Navy's oldest continuo ...

Kittery, Maine Kittery is a town in York County, Maine, United States. Home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery includes Badger's Island, the seaside district of Kittery Point, and part of the Isles of Shoals. The southernmost tow ...

, and off the coast of

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

and southern

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...

. The final scene shows Simas Kudirka (Arkin) and his wife Genna (Shirley Knight) reviewing the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter ''Vigilant'', the ship onto which Kudirka jumped. The actual ship shown in the movie was the USCGC ''Decisive'' at its home port of

New Castle, New Hampshire New Castle is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,000 at the 2020 census. It is the smallest and easternmost town in New Hampshire, and the only one located entirely on islands. It is home to Fort Const ...

. The TS ''State of Maine'', the training ship of Maine Maritime Academy in Castine, Maine was used as the Russian fish factory ship. Many students at MMA were extras as Russian crewmen.

Awards

In 1978, the movie won two Emmys and was nominated for another three.IMDB.com
- Awards for The Defection of Simas Kudirka Winners were: *Outstanding Directing in a Special Program - Drama or Comedy: Director David Lowell Rich *Outstanding Film Editing for a Special: John A. Martinelli The nominated categories and nominees were: *Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Special (Dramatic Underscore): David Shire *Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Comedy or Drama Special: Donald Pleasence *Outstanding Writing in a Special Program - Drama or Comedy - Original Teleplay: Bruce Feldman In 1979, the movie won an "Eddie" from the American Cinema Editors, USA, for Best Edited Television Special, awarded to John A. Martinelli.

Home media

The movie has been released on DVD on-demand format.VideoETA.com
- Home Video releases of the movie

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Defection of Simas Kudirka 1978 drama films 1978 television films 1978 films American drama television films American films based on actual events CBS network films Defection in fiction Films about the United States Coast Guard Films directed by David Lowell Rich 1970s English-language films 1970s American films