White Hunter Black Heart Eastwood, is based on real-life director John Huston. Jeff Fahey plays Pete Verrill, a character based on Viertel. George Dzundza's character is based on "African Queen" producer Sam Spiegel. Marisa Berenson's character Kay Gibson and Richard Vanstone's character Phil Duncan, are based on Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart, respectively. This was the last film that James Bridges worked on writing down a screenplay before dying in 1993. In the early 1950s, world-renowned film-maker John Wilson travels to Africa for his next film bringing with him a young writer chum named Pete Verrill. Part of his travel plans include hunting elephants
White Hunter Black Heart filming "unharmed, unscratched, unused." Actor Clive Mantle, who plays the racist bouncer Harry, has the distinction of being the only person to successfully beat up Clint Eastwood in a film (not counting "Every Which Way But Loose" when he intentionally loses). Mantle was roughly half Eastwood's age and reportedly had trouble keeping up with him during filming of the fight scene. Although Eastwood had suffered beatings in other films, most notably "Dirty Harry", its sequel "Sudden Impact" and later "Unforgiven", they usually involved him being outnumbered or outmatched; this was the first and only time he was defeated in a