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
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