Duel (1971 film)

Duel
Promotional poster (re-release version)
Genre	Thriller
Based on	Duel by Richard Matheson
Written by	Richard Matheson
Directed by	Steven Spielberg
Starring	Dennis Weaver
Theme music composer	Billy Goldenberg
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
Production
Producer(s)	George Eckstein
Cinematography	Jack A. Marta
Editor(s)	Frank Morriss
Running time	74 minutes (TV broadcast) 89 minutes (Theatrical cut)
Distributor	Universal Studios
Budget	$450,000
Release
Original network	ABC
Original release	November 13, 1971

Duel is a 1971 television (and later full-length theatrical) thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg in his full-length film directing debut and written by Richard Matheson, based on Matheson's short story of the same name. It stars Dennis Weaver as a terrified motorist stalked on a remote and lonely road by the mostly unseen driver of a mysterious tanker truck.

David Mann is a middle-aged salesman driving on a business trip. He encounters a rusty, old tanker truck on a two-lane highway in the California desert, traveling slower than the speed limit and expelling sooty diesel exhaust. Mann passes the truck, but the truck then roars past him and slows down again. Mann overtakes and passes again; the truck blasts its horn and Mann leaves it in the distance.

Mann pulls into a gas station, and shortly after the truck arrives and parks next to him. Mann phones his wife, who is upset with him after an argument the previous night. They discuss him picking a "fist fight" with someone, giving a possible link to the truck driver. Several times, the truck driver blasts his air horn, seemingly impatient at waiting to be served by the attendant who is attending to Mann. The gas station attendant refills Mann's car and mentions that it needs a new radiator hose, but Mann refuses the repair.

Back on the road, the truck catches up, passes, and blocks Mann’s path each time he attempts to pass. After antagonizing Mann for some time, the unseen driver waves him past, indicating that it is safe to pass. But Mann attempts to pass and almost strikes an oncoming vehicle. He realizes that the truck driver is trying to trick him into a fatal crash, so he passes the truck again, using an unpaved turnout next to the highway.

The truck tailgates Mann at high speeds, forcing him to maintain his speed to avoid being rear-ended. The truck bumps him several times, then Mann drives his car off the road and collides with a fence opposite a diner. The truck continues down the road, and Mann enters the diner to compose himself. Returning from the restroom, he is shocked to see the truck parked outside. Mann studies the diner patrons and confronts the man who he believes is the truck driver; offended, the driver strikes Mann in the stomach and drives away in a different truck. The pursuing truck leaves seconds later indicating that its driver was never inside the diner.

Mann leaves the diner and stops to help a stranded school bus, but his front bumper becomes caught underneath the bus's rear bumper. The truck appears at the end of a tunnel. Mann panics, manages to free his car, and flees. To Mann's shock and slight chagrin, the truck starts the bus by giving it a push-start to get it moving. Shortly after, Mann is stopped at a railroad crossing when the truck pushes his car toward the path of an oncoming freight train. The train passes just in time; Mann crosses the tracks and pulls off the road. The truck passes and disappears. Mann finds it waiting for him farther down the road.