Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Michael Douglas | ... | Ed Leland | |
Melanie Griffith | ... | Linda Voss | |
Liam Neeson | ... | Franze-Otto Dietrich | |
Joely Richardson | ... | Margrete Von Eberstien | |
John Gielgud | ... | Sunflower | |
Francis Guinan | ... | Andrew Berringer | |
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Patrick Winczewski | ... | Fishmonger |
Anthony Walters | ... | Dietrich's Son | |
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Victoria Shalet | ... | Dietrich's Daughter |
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Sheila Allen | ... | Olga Leiner, Margrete's Mother |
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Stanley Beard | ... | Linda's Father |
Sylvia Syms | ... | Linda's Mother | |
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Ronald Nitschke | ... | Horst Drescher |
Hansi Jochmann | ... | Hedda Drescher | |
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Peter Flechtner | ... | S.S. Officer at Fish Market |
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. Written by L. Hamre
OK, so this movie is not a total turkey, but compared to the source material it isn't in the same ballpark - not even the same sport!
The book 'Shining Through' is a wonderfully nuanced and thoughtfully written novel, in which the author really cares for her characters. None of this came through in the movie and some very important plot points were left out - ones which could have lifted the movie immeasurably.
My advice - See the movie, or read the book. If you do both the movie will come out lacking.