FREE! Click here to Join FunTrivia. Thousands of games, quizzes, and lots more!
Quiz about Shining Through Pt I
Quiz about Shining Through Pt I

"Shining Through" Pt. I Trivia Quiz


"Shining Through", based on a popular novel by Susan Isaacs, took place during WWII and had it all: a crackling good story line, romance, intrigue, espionage, and suspense. This quiz covers roughly the first half of the movie.

A multiple-choice quiz by sundancer415. Estimated time: 4 mins.
  1. Home
  2. »
  3. Quizzes
  4. »
  5. Movie Trivia
  6. »
  7. S
  8. »
  9. Sg - Sk Movies

Author
sundancer415
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
302,547
Updated
Jul 23 22
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
170
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. Who played Ed Leland and Linda Voss in "Shining Through"? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. From what college did the legal secretaries at Ed Leland's firm typically come? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. The film's story was told using what cinematic convention? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. After being initially rejected, how did Linda land an interview at Leland's firm? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Whose movies did Linda tell Ed he should see? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. What impressed Ed enough to hire Linda? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Who played a double-agent in the movie? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. How did Linda convince Ed to let her be a spy? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Ed's partner at the firm disparagingly compared Linda's German accent to that of what person? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Linda was only half Jewish. What was her other half? Hint



(Optional) Create a Free FunTrivia ID to save the points you are about to earn:

arrow Select a User ID:
arrow Choose a Password:
arrow Your Email:




Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Who played Ed Leland and Linda Voss in "Shining Through"?

Answer: Michael Douglas and Melanie Griffith

"Shining Through" featured two mega-stars working together for the first time. Melanie Griffith played another beautiful, bright, "don't push me around" woman, a bit like Tess in "Working Girl," a role for which she won the Best Actress Oscar. (Unfortunately, Melanie won the "Razzie" -- Golden Raspberry Foundation Award -- for "the Worst Performance by an Actress" for "Shining Through.") Michael Douglas' Ed Leland was brilliant, focused, secretive, and humorless, a far cry from his portrayal of the charismatic Andrew Shepherd ("The American President") and macho Jack Colton ("Romancing the Stone" and "Jewel of the Nile").
2. From what college did the legal secretaries at Ed Leland's firm typically come?

Answer: Vassar

The Personnel Director initially rejected Linda for an interview because she hadn't gone to Vassar. ("Almost all of our legal secretaries come to us from Vassar.") As she stood to leave, Linda Voss told the personnel director, "I wouldn't want you to have to work with someone who's had to get her hands dirty." Talk about burning your bridges...
3. The film's story was told using what cinematic convention?

Answer: as a narrative, in an interview of Linda, filmed to air on the BBC

The series for the BBC was titled "Hitler's Germany, Part 5: Women in the War". "Shining Through" opened on a BBC television set, where an aging woman (Griffith) was brought in and seated under the lights, 'mic'ed' and then run through a voice check. (Griffith was "aged" to appear to be in her 60s-70s when the interview took place.) At various times during the movie, the audience returned to that television stage, which reminded us that the entire story, covering her experience some 40 years earlier, was a flashback.

The end credits showed that Clement von Franckenstein played the BBC interviewer. I didn't believe there was actually an actor by that name, so I "Googled" him, and sure enough -- he's for real. Apparently he is also the son of an ambassador to the Court of St. James!
4. After being initially rejected, how did Linda land an interview at Leland's firm?

Answer: The personnel director overheard Linda speaking fluent German.

When the German cleaning lady accidentally knocked over the water cooler in the waiting area -- splashing water on all of the job applicants and all over the floor -- Linda consoled her in German and the personnel director was impressed. She said, "Oh, Miss Voss, you failed to mention that you speak a second language."
5. Whose movies did Linda tell Ed he should see?

Answer: Charlie Chaplin's

Ed was known as "The Pallbearer" at the office, as he rarely smiled. Surprised that a man his age had never seen a Chaplin film, Linda quoted Charlie Chaplin to Ed: "A day without laughter is a wasted day."
6. What impressed Ed enough to hire Linda?

Answer: all of these

Linda was not easily intimidated. At the end of her interview for a job with Ed, she declined to take his test. ("Stand up and turn around for me, please." "I'll take it sitting down.") Ed said he was going to ask her to stand up, turn around, close her eyes, and describe what she saw in his office. Staring him straight in the eyes and seated, she calmly replied, "Pictures of sailboats and polo ponies. Fancy books and diplomas. Stuffed fish on the wall. Calendar set to the wrong date. Bookcases that need dusting; carpets that need cleaning. And a couple of guys from Harvard who are surprised that a girl who needs a job won't be treated like a slave." Earlier she had passed a translation test with Ed's partner. And when Linda told Ed she was half Jewish and asked him if that would be a problem in his firm, Ed smiled (!) and said, "That only means we're half sure you can be trusted."
7. Who played a double-agent in the movie?

Answer: Joely Richardson

Joely played Margrete von Eberstein, daughter of Hitler's favorite pianist, Olga Leiner, a Nazi. Margrete, Linda's contact and an agent for the Allied forces, became Linda's best friend upon her arrival in Berlin. When Linda confided to her new friend and supposed ally that she was half Jewish, Margrete couldn't wait to introduce Linda to her mother. ("I want to see her kiss a Jew!") Margrete lied to her mother and said that she and Linda went to university together. That introduction later led to a very suspenseful scene; Olga recognized Linda at the symphony and blew Linda's background story.

Joely Richardson was born in 1965 to British actress Vanessa Redgrave and director Tony Richardson, which makes her the granddaughter of acclaimed actor Michael Redgrave, the niece of actors Lynn and Corin Redgrave, and sister to actress Natasha Richardson. Some genes!
8. How did Linda convince Ed to let her be a spy?

Answer: She baked German strudel for him.

Ed was in a pinch as he needed to replace his operative who had been caught and hanged. He didn't want to send Linda, but he relented when she shared her baked apple strudel with him ("just the way my German grandmother taught me"). Linda convinced him she could go in as a domestic (cook) at the last minute without having to go through the routine background check. He reluctantly agreed.
9. Ed's partner at the firm disparagingly compared Linda's German accent to that of what person?

Answer: a Berlin butcher's wife

The partner said this to Ed in front of Linda, who took a bit of offense. Linda said she learned German from her grandmother, who wasn't a butcher's wife. Her grandfather owned a button factory "until it burned down." Sunflower (Sir John Gielgud), the inside agent in Berlin, was also horrified at Linda's accent, but Margrete disagreed and found it charming.
10. Linda was only half Jewish. What was her other half?

Answer: Irish

Ed was surprised at Linda's gumption during the interview. She responded, "I forgot to tell you, my other half is Irish." Ed replied, "A lethal combination."
Source: Author sundancer415

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor skunkee before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.
Related Quizzes
1. "Simone" Starring Al Pacino Average
2. "Shine" On, "Shine" On Average
3. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Average
4. Silver Bullet Average
5. The Silver Brumby Average
6. The Shadow Average
7. "Shining Through" Pt. II Easier
8. Sing Street Average
9. Single White Female Average
10. Shadow Magic Average
11. Who's Who: "Sing" (2016) Easier
12. Silver Linings Playbook Average

3/28/2024, Copyright 2024 FunTrivia, Inc. - Report an Error / Contact Us