The Defection of Simas Kudirka (1978): Cast

Based on the true 1970 attempt of Lithuanian seaman Simas Kudirka to seek political asylum in the United States, he was denied entry, handed back to Soviet authorities, charged with treason and sentenced to ten years of hard labor. Later it was proved his mother, born in Brooklyn, was a U.S. citizen, granting Kudirka citizenship and leading to his release in 1974.

• DL Director David Lowell Rich

• Alan Arkin as Simas Kudirka
• SK Shirley Knight as Genna Kudirka
• NS Nicholas Saunders as Soviet Chairman
• Donald Pleasence as Capt. Vladimir Popov

• Eye of the Cat 1969 · Metascore 34
• Choices 1986
• The Defiant Ones 1986
• Scandal Sheet 1985

• Checker Marathon