Shining Through (1992)

An American woman of Irish, Jewish-German parentage goes undercover in Nazi Germany.

Director:

David Seltzer

Writers:

Susan Isaacs (novel), David Seltzer (screenplay)

Stars:

Michael Douglas, Melanie Griffith, Liam Neeson

4 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Douglas	...	Ed Leland
Melanie Griffith	...	Linda Voss
Liam Neeson	...	Franze-Otto Dietrich
Joely Richardson	...	Margrete Von Eberstein
John Gielgud	...	Sunflower
Francis Guinan	...	Andrew Berringer
Patrick Winczewski	...	Fishmonger
Anthony Walters	...	Dietrich's Son
Victoria Shalet	...	Dietrich's Daughter
Sheila Allen	...	Olga Leiner, Margrete's Mother
Stanley Beard	...	Linda's Father
Sylvia Syms	...	Linda's Mother
Ronald Nitschke	...	Horst Drescher
Hansi Jochmann	...	Hedda Drescher
Peter Flechtner	...	S.S. Officer at Fish Market

Storyline

1940, Linda Voss is a woman of Irish, Jewish-German parentage who loves the movies, especially films about war and spies. She gets a job at a New York law firm, after it's revealed she can speak German, fluently. As secretary and translator to Ed Leland, she begins to suspect that her boss is involved in espionage work. The two become lovers, and when America officially joins the Allies in fighting Hitler, Linda volunteers to go undercover behind enemy lines.

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Plot Keywords:

germany | world war two | double agent | black stockings | law | 

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Taglines:

He needed to trust her with his secret. She had to trust him with her life.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Thriller | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for a scene of sensuality

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 January 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

Uma Luz na Escuridão

Filming Locations:

Hansaviertel, Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany

Box Office

Gross:

$21,733,781 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Sandollar Productions, Peter V. Miller Investment Corp.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

132 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby SR (35 mm prints)

Color:

Black and White Color (Rankcolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Many of the lead actors are second-generation members of acting families. Joely Richardson is the daughter of Tony Richardson and Vanessa Redgrave, to whom Liam Neeson is also related by marriage. Michael Douglas is the son of Kirk Douglas. Melanie Griffith is the daughter of Tippi Hedren. John Gielgud is the nephew of theatrical actress Ellen Terry .

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Goofs

During the dance, Leland wears the Army Blue Uniform, which was adopted July 1, 1957, with a Sam Browne belt, which was adopted after 1942.

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Quotes

Ed Leland: [she lights a cigarette] When did start smoking?
Linda Voss: I don't know.
Ed Leland: That was a silly thing to do, don't you think?
Linda Voss: I'm a silly girl. Ed. I think you're living proof of that.

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Connections

References The Mortal Storm (1940)

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Soundtracks

"I'll Be Seeing You"
Written by Sammy Fain and Irving Kahal

User Reviews

Needed an historical adviser

This was in many ways an enjoyable film, but the many historical inaccuracies and the lack of attention to details is inexcusable. I lived through WWII, but that experience was hardly needed in order to spot this script's many eminently avoidable historical flaws.

Writer/director David Seltzer must bear the blame here. This was not a low budget film, so hiring an historical adviser would surely have been a justifiable added cost. As it is, Shining Through comes close to being as implausible as any Star Trek film. That said, this movie had enough positive aspects to make it worthy of such criticism as I have leveled, but it could so easily have been a film to taken seriously.