Stories from the set

The prototype for Eastwood's character in the film was the legendary director John Huston, director of The African Queen (1951).

Clint Eastwood agreed to direct the crime drama "The Rookie" (1990) only in exchange for Warner Brothers' promise to let him make a film of his own choosing, and Eastwood made "White Hunter Black Heart."

The film was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival. Clint Eastwood took a 5-day break from shooting "The Rookie" to personally attend the screening of "White Hunter Black Heart" at Cannes. It is said that the delay cost him $1.5 million.

The speech of Clint Eastwood's character here differs from how his characters speak in other films. Eastwood deliberately imitates John Huston's speech, drawing out the vowels in words.

The film company Warner Brothers insisted on shooting the scenes on the steamship The African Trader on a soundstage, but Clint Eastwood went against these wishes and shot everything on location and amid real rapids, and he himself was at the helm during the filming of this scene.