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 was electrically powered, but was fitted with motors and engines by special effects expert John Evans to make the boat appear to be steam-powered. The elephant gun used in the film was a £65,000 double barrelled rifle of the type preferred by most professional hunters and their clients in this era. It was made by Holland & Holland, the gunmakers who also made the gun used by Huston when he was in Africa for "The African Queen" in 1951. The "White Hunter Black Heart" filmmakers took great care with the gun and sold it back to Holland & Holland after