At the conclusion of World War II, a collective of photographers who called themselves "Magnum" had acquired a reputation for strikingly powerful images of the social and political strife that transpired over the decades of the 1930s and 1940s. Their photographs, recognized by the public through the medium of such magazines as LifeandTime, described poignant human events that depicted the changes that war had brought upon the world. Along with Henri Cartier-Bresson, David "Chim" Seymour, George Rodger, and Bill Vandivert, Robert Capa founded the photo agency, Magnum, in 1947. It was the first coorperative of its kind, comprised of a membership of working photographers who chose the editors and set the policies on how their work would be represented and marketed. They all shared in the agency's profits, proportionaly distributed according to individual contributions. Capa, a photojournalist who had made his mark woth photographs taken amidst the heat of battle in both the Spanish Civil War in 1936 and in the Allied landing at Normandy in 1944, brought together a knowledge of human drama that fit perfectly into the realm of movie making. Always longing to be on both sides of the camera in the movies, Capa had had a torrid love affair with Ingrid Bergman that ended in 1946. His friendship with American writers John Steinbeck and Ernest Hemingway and film director John Huston opened doors for the photographer in the wonderful world of Hollywood. His first job documenting activities on the set of Beat the Devil, 1954, introdued him to Humphrey Bogart, which, in turn, paved his way to cover the filming of The Barefoot Contessa,1954. Soon his contracts with the stars of cinema were legion. His image of John Huston and Colette Marchand in Moulin Rouge,1952, and Ingrid Bergman with Alfred Hitchcock in the film Notorious, 1946, are familiar icons of the Hollywood tradition. Henri Cartier-Besson, another major figure in establishing Magnum, had pursued an interest in cinema by becoming a production assistant with film-maker Jean Renoir. Cartier-Besson's major contribution to the film shoot of The Misfits,1961, starring Marilyn Manroe, provided him with a poignant, warm appreciation for the actress's offscreen personality. The idea of establishing a contractural relationship to be present at the filming of a movie documenting the actors and the filming activities landed Magnum photographers a steady job which gave them a regular place in the industry as well as a regular incom. The photographs from these ventures established a glamour of Hollywood in American magazines whose audience had a fascination for this genre. The Misfitsmarks a turning point for Magnum's role in cinema. The negotiation of a contract to provide pairs of Magnum photographers "on shoot" for two weeks stints was the most monimental event in Magnum's history with film. Because of the nature of celebrity in the movie's stars - Marilyn Monroe, clark Vable, and Montgomery Clift - the producers sought to minimize the ordeal of having hordes of magazine reporters an th set. Determining that the world press would be provided with Magnum photographs of exceptional quality, the producers' choice to limit access to one agency kept a melee from interfering with the actors' privacy and their fragile psychological condition. This was the last film for Monroe and Gable and a particularly difficult time in her life as her marriage with Arthur Miller was in crisis producing an emotional experience in which she overdosed on sleeping pills. Magnum photographer Eve Arnold provided a calming effect on the actress staying with the job until the film was finished. Selected from over 7,000 photographs in Magnum's archives, the images in the Lore Degenstein Gallery's exhibition demonstrates the off-screen, off-guard presence of actors and filmmakers giving us a privileged position as voyeurs onto the private moments of its stars. Some photographs witness the intimate exchange between members of the crew; others show the interaction of photographer and subject as the "mug" for the camera. The exhibition, organized by Magnum Photos and circulated by Curatrial Assistance, Los Angeles, is funded in part through the generosity of the Carles B Degenstein Foundation. An accompanying book with an introduction by Alain Bergala has been published by Phaidon Press Limited, London, 1998.   Valerie Livinsgston   Marilyn Monroe on Location in the Nevada Desert for John Huston's "The Misfits". Eve Arnold. 1960.