Hello. Mark here and welcome to the Kensington Minute. Among her many monikers were The Blonde Bombshell from Vassar College and the Red Spy Queen. But she didn’t call herself that. She cast herself as a New England girl gone wrong after college when she first became a fascist, and then a communist. As a communist, she made herself useful to the Soviets by serving as a courier, carrying secrets from Washington to New York, where they would be relayed to Moscow. Driven by either fear of the Soviets or anger at how she was manipulated by the men that tried to control, she went to the FBI and revealed everything she knew about Soviet tradecraft. And she knew a lot. Her name?

Elizabeth Bentley, who was dubbed a Sad Sack by a Vassar classmate and described as a woman who tried too hard and never landed Mr. Right. However, her testimony before the House Unamerican Activities Committee helped to land one witness some time in prison and revealed the identity of many others who were part of a deep Soviet spy ring in Washington. This sad sack who constantly clamored for attention certainly got it on television shows and from an audience shocked by the number of spies in the nation’s capital. Her fame was fleeting, and she descended into alcoholism, which finally took her life. The was no movie made about her, but I don’t know why. Her story has all the elements of drama and all the vices out there. Lust, betrayal, and countless lies in the power center of the world. I would like to Hollywood take it up, and I would like to see Jeniffer Lawrence as the Blonde Bombshell from Vassar College. Whom would you cast? Thanks and be sure to take the Kensington Challenge. Out here.