Shining Through

1992

Shining Through (1992)

TOMATOMETER

44%

——

Critic Consensus: No consensus yet.

AUDIENCE SCORE

73%

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Movie Info

Kewpie-doll voiced Melanie Griffith does a sexed-up Nancy Drew turn in David Seltzer's adaptation of Susan Issacs' novel Shining Through. Set during World war II, Griffith plays Linda Voss, a spunky New York girl who applies for a job with international lawyer Ed Leland (Michael Douglas). Ed hires her immediately when he finds out that she speaks German fluently. The reason Ed is so interested in Linda's language skills is because Ed is an undercover OSS officer who needs a German translator. Their business relationship translates into love, but when America enters the war, Ed abandons his law practice to become a full-time spy. Utilizing Linda's charms, she travels to Berlin and infiltrates the Nazis as a domestic to try to discover information about "a bomb that can fly by itself." But Linda has personal as well as patriotic motives for agreeing to go undercover, since she has Jewish relatives in Berlin and wants to find out their whereabouts. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

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Cast

Michael Douglas
as Ed Leland
Melanie Griffith
as Linda Voss
Liam Neeson
as Dietrich
Joely Richardson
as Margrete
John Gielgud
as Sunflower
Francis Guinan
as Berringer
Patrick Winczewski
as Fishmonger
Anthony Walters
as Dietrich's Son
Mary Gail Artz
Victoria Shalet
as Dietrich's Daughter
Andrzej Borkowksi
as German Refugee
Sheila Allen
as Olga Leiner
Barbara Cohen
Stanley Beard
as Linda's Father
Sylvia Syms
as Linda's Mother
Roland Nitschke
as Horst Drescher
Simone Reynolds
Ronald Nitschke
as Horst Drescher
Hansi Jochmann
as Hedda Drescher
Peter Flechtner
as S.S. Officer at Fishmonger
Alexander Hauff
as S.S. Officer at Fishmonger
Claus Plankers
as S.S. Officer at Fishmonger
Renate Cyll
as Woman in Fish Market
Dana Gladstone
as Street Agitator
Lorinne Vozoff
as Personnel Director
Mathieu Carriere
as Von Haefler
Deirdre Harrison
as USO Singer
Wolf Kahler
as Border Commandant
Wolfe Morris
as Male Translator
William Hope
as Kernohan
Nigel Whitmey
as 1st GI in Canteen
Rob Freeman
as 2nd GI in Canteen
Lisa Orgolini
as Girl in Canteen
Jay Benedict
as Wisecracker in War Room
Thomas Kretschmann
as Man at Zurich Station
Klaus Munster
as Cab Driver
Markus Napier
as S.S. Officer
Constanze Engelbrecht
as Stayson Von Neest
Martin Hoppe
as German Soldier
Fritz Eggert
as German Soldier
Ludwig Haas
as Hitler
Clement von Franckenstein
as BBC Interviewer
Lorelei King
as Leland's New Secretary
Hans Martin Stier
as Truck Driver
Wolfgang Heger
as Bus Conductor Kinderstrasse
Michael Gempart
as Man at Kinderstrasse
Hana-Maria Pravda
as Babysitter
Lutz Weillich
as Train Station Guard
Wolfgang Muller
as Bus Conductor
Markus Kissling
as Swiss Border Guard
Anna Tzelniker
as Cleaning Woman
Andrzej Borkowdki
as German Refugee
Simon DeDeney
as S.S. Man
Tusse Silberg
as Woman Dinner Guest at Drescher's
Suzanne Roquette
as Woman Dinner Guest at Drescher's
Janis Martin
as Opera Singer
John Forristal
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Critic Reviews for Shining Through

All Critics (16) | Top Critics (3)

David Seltzer has had the good sense to stick to a proven formula and the whole thing is genuinely romantic.

Jul 23, 2018 | Full Review…
The Spectator

Lavishly staged in German locations and handsomely costumed -- with some particularly fetching hats for Griffith -- Shining Through is never hard to watch. Sometimes, however, it is ludicrous to listen to.

May 30, 2018 | Full Review…
Hartford Courant

fails as an espionage thriller, but also as a romance

Jan 16, 2005 | Rating: 1.5/5 | Full Review…
Filmcritic.com

Griffith as an American spy posing as a German during WWII. Gimme a break!!!

May 21, 2003 | Rating: 1/5
Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

The word 'bore' comes to mind

Sep 19, 2002 | Rating: 2/5
Moviehole
View All Critic Reviews (16)

Audience Reviews for Shining Through

Totally unrealistic. I mean, really? Secretary who happens to know German turned into full-time secret spy in Nazi Germany? I guess if you don't think too much about it, you can enjoy it.

Wildaly M
Wildaly M

Super Reviewer

½

This war-drama of the Forties with Michael Douglas and Melanie Griffiths is so clever and effective homeage.

Dean McKenna
Dean McKenna

Super Reviewer

If you don't think too much, its a good movie. Melanie Griffith spying for the Americans as a German domestic even though her story about her background doesn't hold up. Michael Douglas as a spy who doesn't speak any German. Surely the Germans were not that stupid.

Red Lats
Red Lats

Super Reviewer

could have been a good film with a little polish and different actors in the leads

jay nixon
jay nixon

Super Reviewer

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