Duel

A business commuter is pursued and terrorized by a malevolent driver of a massive tractor-trailer.

• Director:Steven Spielberg
• Genre:Action / Mystery / Thriller
• Runtime:86 minutes

Cast

Dennis Weaver : David Mann
Eddie Firestone : Cafe Owner
Gene Dynarski : Man in Cafe
Tim Herbert : Gas Station Attendant
Charles Seel : Old Man

David Mann (Dennis Weaver) is a middle-aged businessman driving to an appointment in his Plymouth Valiant. On a two-lane highway in the California desert, he encounters a faded and grimy tanker truck, a Peterbilt 281, traveling slower than the speed limit and expelling thick plumes of diesel exhaust. Mann passes the unsightly truck which promptly roars past him and slows down. Mann passes the truck a second time and is startled when it issues a long air horn blast.

Mann soon finds himself in a bizarre cat-and-mouse game with the truck, which follows him into a gas station. While at the station, Mann makes a phone call to his wife who is a bit annoyed with him for not confronting one of their friends at a recent party who was making a pass at her. Mann argues that the friend had had too much to drink and did not require that kind of overreaction. His wife’s anger cools but she chides him for always being one who tends to avoid confrontation.

After Mann returns to the highway, the truck begins tailgating him. When he allows the truck to overtake his Plymouth, the truck slows and soon begins blocking Mann’s path each time he attempts to pass the truck. At one stage the truck driver waves at Mann, indicating that he can overtake. But as he does so, he almost collides with an oncoming vehicle. Mann discovers an unpaved turnout next to the highway and uses it to race ahead of the truck. The truck pursues Mann again, this time chasing him at speeds of over 90 miles per hour (145 km/h) down a mountain road and bumping him several times until the Plymouth goes off the road in front of a diner. Read more