Peter Viertel Black Heart", which was made into a film starring Clint Eastwood in 1990. It is a thinly-disguised account of Viertel's experiences working with film director John Huston while they were making "The African Queen". The central character is scriptwriter Pete Verrill while the Huston character is called John Wilson. Film critic Pauline Kael wrote in 1999 that "White Hunter" was “still the best Hollywood novel I’ve ever come across — and it isn’t even set in Hollywood.” Viertel's opinion of the finished film was tempered by his idea that Huston himself would have preferred a portrayal with more sarcasm. Viertel's
Clint Eastwood in the 1950s Clint Eastwood in the 1950s While serving in the U.S Army at Ft. Ord, California, Clint Eastwood met Chuck Hill, who had contacts in Hollywood. Chuck introduced Eastwood to a few key individuals. He knew little about acting at first and began attending acting classes at Universal Studios. He got a few small parts and began to take his acting career more seriously. His big break came when he was cast as the lead in the part of Rowdy Yates in the television series "Rawhide". According to the CBS press release for "Rawhide", Universal (known then as Universal-International) film company