Duel 1. Wikipedia. Duel is a 1. Richard Matheson, which is based on his own short story. The Pit and the Pendulum released on DVD in the United States as The Inquisitor is a 1991 American horror film directed by Stuart Gordon and based on the eponymous. Directed by Robert Greenwald. With Annie Potts, Harry Dean Stanton, Kim Darby, Arthur Godfrey. What can a trucker deduct on taxes A list of tax deductible expenses that truckers can use to save money at tax time. Castcredits plus additional information about the film. The film is the full length film directing debut of American director, producer, and screenwriter Steven Spielberg. Duel stars Dennis Weaver who portrays a terrified motorist driving a Plymouth Valiant who is stalked upon remote and lonely California canyon roads by the mostly unseen driver of an unkempt 1. Peterbilt 2. 81tanker truck. David Mann is a middle aged salesman driving on a business trip. He encounters a tanker truck on a two lane highway in the Mojave Desert, traveling below the speed limit and expelling sooty diesel exhaust. Mann passes the truck, but the truck then roars past him. When Mann overtakes and passes it again, the truck blasts its horn. Mann leaves it in the distance. Mann pulls into a gas station, and shortly afterward the truck arrives and parks next to him. Through the space beneath the truck bed, he sees the driver is wearing cowboy boots. Mann phones his wife, who is upset with him after an argument the previous night. The gas station attendant refills Manns car and mentions that it needs a new radiator hose, but he says he will get it fixed later. Back on the road, the truck catches up, passes, and blocks Manns path each time he attempts to pass. After antagonizing Mann for some time, the driver waves him past. However, when Mann attempts to pass he almost runs into an oncoming vehicle. He realizes the truck driver tried to trick him into a crash, so he passes the truck using an unpaved turnout next to the highway and taunts the driver as he speeds past. The truck tailgates Mann at high speeds, forcing him to increase his speed to avoid being rear ended. Mann finally 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. Though he assumes the truck drivers road rage has been satisfied, upon returning from the restroom he sees the truck parked outside. He studies the diner patrons and confronts a man wearing the same cowboy boots he saw on the truck driver. Offended, the driver strikes Mann and drives away in a different truck. The pursuing truck leaves seconds later, indicating 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 buss rear bumper. The truck appears at the end of a tunnel. Mann panics, frees his car by jumping on the hood while the bus driver puts the car in reverse, and flees. To Manns slight chagrin, the truck starts the bus by giving it a push start to get it moving. Shortly afterward, Mann is stopped at a railroad crossing when the truck pushes his car toward a passing freight train. After the train passes, Mann crosses the tracks and pulls over. The truck continues down the road and Mann follows. David Mann Denis Weaver being chased by the truck. Mann stops at a gas station to call the police and replace his radiator hose, but when he steps into the phone booth, the truck drives into it. Mann jumps clear just in time, However, the truck also drives into some glass cages, featuring wild animals, where Mann barely escapes from getting bitten by a rattlesnake. The lady who runs the station cries out in horror as the truck destroys her cages and potentially kills some of the animals that lived in them. He gets into his car and speeds away. Around a corner he pulls off the road, hiding behind an embankment as the truck drives past. After a long wait, Mann heads off again but finds the truck waiting for him down the road. Mann attempts to speed past, but it moves across the road, blocking his way. Mann seeks help from an older couple in a car, but they flee when the truck backs up towards them at speed. The truck stops before hitting Manns car and the driver waves him past. At one point, Mann observes a black and white car parked on the side of the road. Thinking that it is a police car, he skids to a stop, only for him to realize that it is a pest control vehicle. He speeds off and the chase continues. The truck chases him up a mountain range. The radiator hose of Manns car breaks, causing the car to overheat. He barely makes the summit and coasts downhill in neutral as the truck bears down on him. However, a sign states that trucks have to use low gear the next twelve miles and the truck driver is forced to slow down, allowing Mann to gain speed. Manns car cools off enough to allow him to drive up a dirt road and the truck follows him. He turns to face his opponent on a hill overlooking a canyon. He places his briefcase on the accelerator and steers toward the oncoming truck, jumping from the car at the last moment. The tanker hits the car, which bursts into flames, obscuring the truck drivers view. The driver realizes it is too late and honks one final time at Mann, before the truck plunges over the cliff, killing him. Above the wreckage, Mann jumps up and down, laughing with glee and relief. Physically and mentally exhausted, he sits at the cliffs edge and throws stones into the canyon as the sun sets. ProductioneditThe script is adapted by Richard Matheson from his own short story, originally published in Playboy magazine. Matheson got the inspiration for the story when he was tailgated by a trucker while on his way home from a golfing match with friend Jerry Sohl on November 2. John F. Kennedy assassination. After a series of unsuccessful attempts to pitch the idea as an episode for various television series, he decided to write it as a short story instead. In preparation for writing the story, he drove from his home to Ventura and recorded everything he saw on a tape recorder. The original short story was given to Spielberg by his secretary, who told him that it was being made into a movie of the week and suggested he apply to be the director. Duel was Spielbergs second feature length directing effort, after his 1. The Name of the Game NBC television series episode L. A. 2. 01. 7. Much of the movie was filmed in and around the communities of Canyon Country, Agua Dulce, and Acton, California. In particular, sequences were filmed on the Sierra Highway, Agua Dulce Canyon Road, Soledad Canyon Road, and Angeles Forest Highway. Many of the landmarks from Duel still exist today, including the tunnel, the railroad crossing, and Chucks Caf, where Mann stops for a break. The building is still on Sierra Highway and has housed a French restaurant called Le Chene since 1. The Snakerama gas station seen in the film also appears in Spielbergs comedy film 1. Duel, with actress Lucille Benson again appearing as the proprietor. Mathesons script made explicit that the unnamed truck driver, the villain of the film, is unseen aside from the shots of his arms and boots that were needed to convey the plot. Production of the television film was overseen by ABCs director of movies of the week Lillian Gallo. The original made for television version was 7. ABC Movie of the Week. Following Duels successful TV airing, Universal released the film overseas in 1. The TV movie was not long enough for theatrical release, so Universal had Spielberg spend two days filming several new scenes, turning Duel into a 9. The new scenes were set at the railroad crossing, school bus, and the telephone booth. A longer opening sequence was added with the car backing out of a garage and driving through the city.