According to the book 'The MGM Story' by John Douglas Eames, "Battleground was a remarkable case of MGM history repeating itself. When Thalberg planned to make "The Big Parade" Mayer said no one wanted a war drama in 1925. Now Schary, the 'new Thalberg', had brought a pet project over from RKO, where Howard Hughes had vetoed it, and Mayer said no one wanted a war drama in 1949."
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