My Wife's Hidden Lover aka Body in the Attic | Date, plot, cast and the real-life story behind Lifetime movie
Movie name: My Wife's Hidden Lover aka Body in the Attic
Platform: Lifetime
Country of origin: USA
Date of Release: December 28, 2023
Genre: Thriller
What is the plot of 'My Wife's Hidden Lover' aka 'Body in the Attic'?
What happens when you ask your lover to move into your family home? What happens when you ask him to move into your attic of all places? Well, that very pertinent theme (there is a wink and a nudge in there somewhere) is explored in Lifetime's latest thriller. When a woman finds her lover's dead body in her attic (where he's been staying with her full knowledge) she reckons it's her husband who's sent him to meet his maker. So will she confront him or will her lover's death just be the first?
Is 'My Wife's Hidden Lover' aka 'Body in the Attic' based on a true story?
Yes it is! Well "inspired by true events". The real-life story is so outrageous, that it's almost as if the protagonist just knew it was going to be made into a movie.
In 1913 Milwaukee wife Walburga 'Dolly' Oesterreich decided not just to take a teen lover (in this case 17-year-old Otto Sanhuber) but make him live in the attic of the family home she shared with businessman husband Fred. This ménage à trois, though unbeknownst to Fred, went on for FIVE YEARS (that just had to be in all caps didn't it) when Fred decided it was time for the family to relocate to Los Angeles.
Dolly loved the idea as long as the new house in LA 'had an attic'. Fred agreed and Otto was secreted away to LA in advance to ensure that the new attic had a place where he could hide in between the hours he spent romping with Dolly. And so they all moved into the new house in LA, where Otto secretly lived in the attic for the next FOUR YEARS!
But in 1922 Fred was shot and killed in his living room. Dolly told the police that intruders had broken in, locked her in the closet and killed Fred. But LAPD found the fact that nothing was actually stolen from the house mighty suspicious and promptly investigated but could find no proof that Dolly was lying.
EIGHT YEARS later and with Otto still secretly living in the attic, Dolly's new lover -- and also her lawyer -- Herman Shapiro started to get suspicious. Another one of Dolly's lovers (Roy Klumb) was shocked to find out she was also sleeping with Shapiro (neither of them knew about Otto, the original love rat). In a fit of rage he went to the police and told them that Dolly had given him the pistol that killed her husband and asked him to dispose of it, a second pistol was also buried by Dolly's neighbor at her request. Police found both pistols and the game was up.
Otta was convicted of manslaughter, but due to the fact that the statute of limitations had passed, he was released. He moved to Canada where he got married (not to Dolly because that would have just been weird), and eventually spent the remainder of his years in anonymity in Los Angeles. Dolly's trial ended in a hung jury and in 1936 the case against her was dropped. She died in Los Angeles in 1961 aged 80.
Are there any other movies made about the Walburga 'Dolly' Oesterreich case?
In fact 'My Wife's Hidden Lover' aka 'Body in the Attic' is the fourth movie inspired by the case. The first was the 1968 British comedy 'The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom' starring Shirley MacLaine and Richard Attenborough and two made-for-TV movies The Man in the Attic (1995) starring Neil Patrick Harris, and Lover in the Attic (2018) starring Molly Burnett.
'My Wife's Hidden Lover' aka 'Body in the Attic' cast
Abigail Hawk
Fans of the long-running and lauded series 'Blue Bloods' will know Abigail as Detective Abigail Baker, a role she has played for over 200 episodes. Abigail burst onto the scene in the TV series 'Reality Check' back in 1995 and would go on to star (along with four-fifths of the global population) in the 'Law & Order' franchise: She starred in 'Special Victims Unit'. You can see her next in the movie 'The Only Woman in the World', whose poster makes us think it was made in 1984 and then left on a shelf.
Donny Boaz
Donny Boaz's Wikipedia page has the strangest bio stating he was a male model for "brands like Abercrombie and Mothers Against Drunk Driving". I think mentioning Abercrombie and MADD in the same sentence is a bit...how do you say it politely...ridiculous. But that takes nothing away from Donny's career which started when he played Pfc Patrick Miller in the TV movie 'Saving Jessica Lynch'. He went on to play Bo McCabe in the 'Dallas' reboot, and Vance in the criminally underrated 'Six'. But it was as Phillip 'Chance' Chancellor III in 'The Young and the Restless' that Donny really made his mark and truly used the 'Abercrombie' in his bio. You can see him next playing a coach in two films: 'One Heart' and 'Black Spartans'.
Marc Herrmann
Before the snobs out there sneer at Marc's filmography check out the short 'True Love' which he wrote, directed, and starred in (something Internet forums consider taboo for reasons too bizarre to list). 'True Love' was nominated for three Spring Awards to boot. You can catch him next as the character suitably named Mike Wallace in the upcoming movie 'The Laundress' starring Jennifer Moriarty.
Is 'My Wife's Hidden Lover' aka 'Body in the Attic' worth watching?
It's a Lifetime thriller, what's not to love. But seriously, if you don't mind a few plot holes, and a slightly damp script this is well worth the popcorn you will eat while wondering why anyone would think hiding their lover in the attic was a good idea.
MEAWW Watch ranking
2 out of 5
Special note: This is also Lucy Foster's debut as writer, and we wish her all the best!
'My Wife's Hidden Lover' aka 'Body in the Attic' trailer