Marilyn Monroe: On the Couch: Inside the Mind and Life of Marilyn Monroe

There is much written, rumored, told, and retold about Marilyn Monroe, but the most unusual and remarkable fact about her is this: In person as well in her films, she appeared to be outright luminous―enveloped by a glow, like a firefly in the dark.

Even Laurence Olivier, who costarred with Marilyn in the 1957 film The Prince and the Showgirl, saw it. Though he seemed to dislike her intensely, he had to admit that, in all her scenes, she lit up the screen.

But exquisite as it can be, luminosit...