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The Defection of Simas Kudirka

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Director
  
David Lowell Rich

Duration
  

Country
  
United States

7/10
IMDb

Genre
  
Drama

Writer
  
Bruce Feldman

Language
  
English

The Defection of Simas Kudirka movie poster

Release date
  
January 23, 1978 (1978-01-23)

Nominations
  
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited Series, Movie or a Special (Original Dramatic Score)

Cast
  
Alan Arkin
(Simas Kudirka),
Richard Jordan
(Commander Edward Devon),
Donald Pleasence
(Captain Vladimir Popov),
George Dzundza
(Gruzauskas),
John McMartin
(Phillip Chadway),
Shirley Knight
(Genna Kudirka)

Similar movies
  
The Hunt for Red October
,
Funeral in Berlin

The Defection of Simas Kudirka is a 1978 television movie based on actual events, featuring Alan Arkin as Simas Kudirka, a Soviet merchant seaman in Soviet-era 1970 who attempts to defect to the United States by jumping onto a U.S. Coast Guard cutter. Among the movie's awards are two Emmys and another three Emmy nominations. The movie was directed by David Lowell Rich.

Contents

Plot

The movie revolves around the true events of a Lithuanian man named Simas Kudirka, who was at the time was 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 in early 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 helplessly, Soviet officers are allowed to board the cutter, beat and bind Kudirka, and drag him back to his own ship. This tinderbox political incident occurs during a Soviet/U.S. conference over fishing rights. The ultimate fate of Simas Kudirka provides the core of the script.

Cast

  • Alan Arkin as Simas Kudirka
  • Richard Jordan as Commander Edward Devon
  • Donald Pleasence as Vladimir Popov
  • George Dzundza as Gruzauskas
  • Nicholas Guest as Baltrunar
  • Shirley Knight as Genna Kudirka
  • John McMartin as Phillip Chadway
  • Ted Shackelford as Blain
  • Barton Heyman as Dr. Paegle
  • Joyce Vining Morgan as Mrs. Paegle

    • Production

    The movie was filmed in Portsmouth, NH, the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, and off the coast of New Hampshire and southern Maine. 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, NH 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.

    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 video

    The movie has been released on DVD on-demand format.

    References

    The Defection of Simas Kudirka Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA

    The Defection of Simas Kudirka IMDb The Defection of Simas Kudirka themoviedb.org