Duel

[Danno]

Your reasons for disliking the term, are well grounded.

Don't be abrasive!   

[ChrisBcritter]

 

And finally, maybe the biggest goof of all. The evil Peterbilt, which was pulling a tanker clearly labeled "Flammable," goes over the cliff at the end of the movie. Yet there is no explosion? Shouldn't a truck carrying a trailer full of flammable liquid that just tumbled over a cliff catch fire and explode?

Maybe he was deadheading with an empty trailer?

That would also answer Dennis Weaver's question, "How does he go so fast?"

In the original short story which appeared in the April 1971 Playboy (see, you can read it for the articles!), there was a big explosion at the end. You can hear Stephen Lang reading it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJcaNXymg74

[Petetrucker07]

Here's a few articles from 10-4 magazine.

http://www.tenfourmagazine.com/feature/2004/5.html

 http://www.tenfourmagazine.com/2014/09/special-features/the-duel-truck-10-years-later/

 

[Harry P.]

BTW... we have a big feature article coming in the December issue all about building the Duel truck.

[scummy]

 If you watch when the camera looks from the back of the cab back at the tanker you can see it rocking as it follows the surface of the road as if it was empty . Funny , alot of young truckies here have never heard or seen the movie but when they do , we got them hook line and sinker . You also gota remember that flammable liquid only explodes or ignites when a naked flame is introduced to it .

Edited January 8, 2016 by scummy

[DRIPTROIT 71]

OK, I knew that there were 4 trucks, but after Harry's posts I'm am confused about the surviving truck. Which truck was used in the Incredible Hulk episode: "Never Give an Trucker an Even Break", and also in the David Lee Roth video? I thought that was the surviving truck and was the truck used in the added Duel movie scenes.

[Harry P.]

OK, I knew that there were 4 trucks, but after Harry's posts I'm am confused about the surviving truck. Which truck was used in the Incredible Hulk episode: "Never Give an Trucker an Even Break", and also in the David Lee Roth video? I thought that was the surviving truck and was the truck used in the added Duel movie scenes.

You're correct... overall there were four trucks.

That "Hulk" truck was the "backup" truck that was bought when they added the additional scenes to the original TV movie. Neither the truck that was used in the original TV movie or the truck that was used in the additional scenes exist any more. The truck in the original movie was actually crashed and destroyed in the movie's ending, and the truck that appeared in the added scenes was destroyed in another production after it had been used in the additional "Duel" scenes. Any "surviving" Duel trucks never appeared in the movie, either the original TV version or the expanded theatrical release.

Edited January 9, 2016 by Harry P.

[DRIPTROIT 71]

You're correct... overall there were four trucks.

That "Hulk" truck was the "backup" truck that was bought when they added the additional scenes to the original TV movie. Neither the truck that was used in the original TV movie or the truck that was used in the additional scenes exist any more. The truck in the original movie was actually crashed and destroyed in the movie's ending, and the truck that appeared in the added scenes was destroyed in another production after it had been used in the additional "Duel" scenes. Any "surviving" Duel trucks never appeared in the movie, either the original TV version or the expanded theatrical release.

Thanks for the info Harry.

[unclescott58]

I remember watching this movie when it was first aired on ABC in the early 70's. And being blown away by it.

I'm glad that the truck didn't blow up in the end. That would have been too cliche. The view of the crashed cab interior, with the dash board mounted fan still spinning was much more interesting. At the time, it made me wonder if the crazy driver could have survived? Is subsequent viewings, I don't think so. But, I liked the none blowing up ending.

Where is this miraculous repairing radiator hose you guys are talking about. The radiator hose didn't go until near the end of the movie. And after he get the car slightly cooled down in the down hill neutral run, that car never ran well again. He was barely able to limp it to the area where the end of film took place.

Notice the trunk lid trim on the Valiant in the later added scenes with the '72. The earlier Valiants used in the movie had a extra cost trim package with an aluminum trim piece on the lower edge of the trunk lid. This was not available on the '72 Valiants. So they made one using some kind of silver tape. It's most noticeable in the scene where the truck is trying to push the car into the train.

One last thing. I'm glad we saw the arm of the guy driving. This made it more realistic and scary to think there was some nut ball guy behind the wheel. And not just some mysterious possessed vehicle. I've seen and heard about angry truck drivers in real life. But, never any truly proven possessed vehicles. So the idea of a real driver scares me even more. For years it made think about how I drove near certain trucks.

One of the great all time classic films. Worth not only viewing, but owning on DVD. I own a copy.

 

[Harry P.]

Where is this miraculous repairing radiator hose you guys are talking about.

When the hose blows, there's a huge billowing cloud of white smoke trailing the car. Later in the movie he's sitting at the side of the road, and as the truck approached again he restarts the car and speeds off just before the truck rams him. The Valiant is seen speeding down the road. but this time there is no white smoke, so apparently the radiator hose healed itself!

Also... at the very end, the Valiant is clearly shown ramming into the oncoming truck directly head on. But as the truck pushes the Valiant over the cliff after the truck driver loses control, the Valiant is seen placed crosswise across the front of the truck. Oops...

[1972coronet]

Duel is an amazing piece of cinema to be certain . Watched it religiously as a kid ; never missed a T.V. airing !

The added scenes are as follows :

- Opening Sequence : Backing-out of a garage in Arcadia ; travelling through Pasadena neighbourhoods ; travelling-up Broadway in downtown L.A. ; out-of-sequence drive up the Pasadena Freeway ( by 1971 , its route number was "CA 11" ) , then up the Golden state Freeway ( I-5 ) to the Antelope Valley Freeway ( CA 14 ) . At that point , the sequence is blended-in with the T.V. movie's original opening sequence .

- Fuel Station # 1 . Added vignette is of 'Mann' entering the laundromat and calling his wife .

- Scene Inside Chuck's Cafe : In the Novembre 1971 Movie of the Week original , Weaver ( "Mann" ) loses control of the Valiant , and goes skidding and sliding into the lot across from Chuck's . After Mann dusts him-self off , he climbs back into the Valiant and drives away . The 1972 theatrical release shows Mann entering the cafe , and the whole added vignette which follows .

- Disabled School Bus . The first scene where the 1972 Valiant is shown , as witnessed by its 1972 & later "universal" side marker lamp .

- Rail Road Crossing . Again , the 1972 Valiant is seen here .

There are added / extended chase scenes as well .

 

Now , as far as the 'mistakes' : Duel was taken to film vis-a-vis the aforementioned Playboy article , which its-self was based upon a true story by its author , Richard Matheson . The overall vibe was supposed to represent the classic 'Western' genre , albeit with a contemporary twist . The film's  name alone alludes to that .

[Chuck Most]

 

And finally, maybe the biggest goof of all. The evil Peterbilt, which was pulling a tanker clearly labeled "Flammable," goes over the cliff at the end of the movie. Yet there is no explosion? Shouldn't a truck carrying a trailer full of flammable liquid that just tumbled over a cliff catch fire and explode?

That's one thing I like about the movie- the rig did NOT explode at the end. Having it plunge over the cliff and then explode would have been oh-so-cliche. It was a '70's made-for-TV movie, so I'm sure time and budget constraints are factors in it being a bit less than perfect. 

[unclescott58]

Duel is an amazing piece of cinema to be certain . Watched it religiously as a kid ; never missed a T.V. airing !

The added scenes are as follows :

- Opening Sequence : Backing-out of a garage in Arcadia ; travelling through Pasadena neighbourhoods ; travelling-up Broadway in downtown L.A. ; out-of-sequence drive up the Pasadena Freeway ( by 1971 , its route number was "CA 11" ) , then up the Golden state Freeway ( I-5 ) to the Antelope Valley Freeway ( CA 14 ) . At that point , the sequence is blended-in with the T.V. movie's original opening sequence .

- Fuel Station # 1 . Added vignette is of 'Mann' entering the laundromat and calling his wife .

- Scene Inside Chuck's Cafe : In the Novembre 1971 Movie of the Week original , Weaver ( "Mann" ) loses control of the Valiant , and goes skidding and sliding into the lot across from Chuck's . After Mann dusts him-self off , he climbs back into the Valiant and drives away . The 1972 theatrical release shows Mann entering the cafe , and the whole added vignette which follows .

- Disabled School Bus . The first scene where the 1972 Valiant is shown , as witnessed by its 1972 & later "universal" side marker lamp .

- Rail Road Crossing . Again , the 1972 Valiant is seen here .

There are added / extended chase scenes as well .

 

Now , as far as the 'mistakes' : Duel was taken to film vis-a-vis the aforementioned Playboy article , which its-self was based upon a true story by its author , Richard Matheson . The overall vibe was supposed to represent the classic 'Western' genre , albeit with a contemporary twist . The film's  name alone alludes to that .

The scene in Chuck's cafe? I saw the movie when it was originally on TV. And I thought the cafe science was in it? It's been 45 years, so I could be wrong on that one.

Edited January 14, 2016 by unclescott58

[unclescott58]

Oh and Richard Matheson, the writer of Dual, is one of the greatest writers of all time. Famous for stories like I am Legend, and the Incredible Shrinking Man, amongst others. Wrote a lot of early the Twilight Zone episodes.

By the way, do not judge I am Legend by Will Smith movie. Read the original story. It's much, much better. Or see the Vincent Price movie version, Last Man On Earth. A low budget film, but captures the feel of the original story pretty well.

[Harry P.]

That's one thing I like about the movie- the rig did NOT explode at the end. Having it plunge over the cliff and then explode would have been oh-so-cliche. It was a '70's made-for-TV movie, so I'm sure time and budget constraints are factors in it being a bit less than perfect. 

No, it wasn't time and budget constraints. It was Spielberg being "creative" and not wanting to do a cliché explosion ending. He wanted something more... "poetic."

However... when the network honchos saw the finished product they were incensed! They felt that Spielberg "owed" them a flashy, made-for-TV explosive ending, and they felt they hadn't gotten the product they paid for. So the network insisted the ending be re-shot to include the expected explosive ending, whether Spielberg agreed or not. After all, at the time Spielberg was a 24 year old kid, without the clout and "name" he has today. He was just a "hired hand" as far as the TV network was concerned. But the movie's executive producer had Spielberg's back, and refused to authorize a re-shoot. Ultimately, the network gave in and the movie ran as Spielberg intended it.

[1972coronet]

The scene in Chuck's cafe? I saw the movie when it was originally on TV. And I thought the cafe science was in it? It's been 45 years, so I could be wrong on that one.

YouTube used to have the original 1971 made for T.V. release , and the inside shots of Chuck's Cafe wasn't part of it . IIRC , the 2nd gas station scene was also added (?) .

[Chuck Most]

No, it wasn't time and budget constraints. It was Spielberg being "creative" and not wanting to do a cliché explosion ending. He wanted something more... "poetic."

However... when the network honchos saw the finished product they were incensed! They felt that Spielberg "owed" them a flashy, made-for-TV explosive ending, and they felt they hadn't gotten the product they paid for. So the network insisted the ending be re-shot to include the expected explosive ending, whether Spielberg agreed or not. After all, at the time Spielberg was a 24 year old kid, without the clout and "name" he has today. He was just a "hired hand" as far as the TV network was concerned. But the movie's executive producer had Spielberg's back, and refused to authorize a re-shoot. Ultimately, the network gave in and the movie ran as Spielberg intended it.

I wasn't talking about the lack of an explosion being the result of time and budget restrictions- that was aimed more at the movie's other shortcomings. The lack of an explosion was just a nice little twist.

[Atmobil]

This is a very interesting read about Duel. I have never noticed the diffrences in years on the cars used but I guess that is because to me they are not familiar cars. I like that it did not end in a typical (and very unrealistic) hollywood type explosion. I have alwyas hated it when they make a huge mushroom-fire-explosion out of a car in a movie. I remember seeing a movie ones where a car went up in a huge fireball like that because the badguy shot the front bumper. Even shooting a fueltank with fuel in it will not need to create a explosion.

It is clear from this film that Spielberg had the talents to make good movies early on and this movie has a mental drama all the way trough it that keeps you from getting bored. I have seen several modelprojects of the truck over the years and have been tempted at making my own aswell. I'm just afraid that a model will never be as scary as the one in the movie.

[unclescott58]

YouTube used to have the original 1971 made for T.V. release , and the inside shots of Chuck's Cafe wasn't part of it . IIRC , the 2nd gas station scene was also added (?) .

Was Chuck's Cafe were Weaver's character considers confronting the different drivers, trying to figure out which one was trying to run him down? You know, where he orders the cheese sandwich and gets into a fight with one. I would have swore that was in the made for TV version. I thought I remember him looking over at each guy at the lunch counter, wondering if that was the guy. And what he should say to him?

[Harry P.]

Yes, the "café scene" was in the original made-for-TV movie, IIRC.

[1972coronet]

From the IMDB page : "With its original runtime of 74 minutes, the TV movie was not long enough to be released in theaters. Universal called Spielberg back to shoot additional scenes in order to make it a 90-minute film. These new scenes were the railroad crossing, the school bus, the scene where David phones his wife and the opening scene where the car backs out of the garage and drives through the city."

I stand corrected

[unclescott58]

From the IMDB page : "With its original runtime of 74 minutes, the TV movie was not long enough to be released in theaters. Universal called Spielberg back to shoot additional scenes in order to make it a 90-minute film. These new scenes were the railroad crossing, the school bus, the scene where David phones his wife and the opening scene where the car backs out of the garage and drives through the city."

I stand corrected

Oh, good! So I'm not going senile after all. ?  I thought I remembered the cafe scene. After all it was pretty dramatic, and I thought helped move the story farther along.

[Harry P.]

Interesting trivia factoid: Of all the characters that appear in the move... the cafe scene, the broken-down school bus scene, the roadside "snake zoo" scene, etc... the only character with a name was Dennis Weaver's character... and his name was "Mann."

[charlie8575]

Given the whole movie, I've often wondered if there was some symbolism in choosing a Valiant with its name.

Another question- I once read someplace that the crashed truck and car were left at the bottom of that ravene (sp?) because they couldn't be retrieved safely. Does anyone know if that's true? 

Charlie Larkin

[Harry P.]

Given the whole movie, I've often wondered if there was some symbolism in choosing a Valiant with its name.

Another question- I once read someplace that the crashed truck and car were left at the bottom of that ravene (sp?) because they couldn't be retrieved safely. Does anyone know if that's true? 

Charlie Larkin

Interesting question. I'd love to know the answer, too.