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Structure
Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 25 general entries.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Duel
| What is the main character's full name? | Duel
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David Mann. The part in the movie when you really notice his name, is when he's on the phone to the police and he has to repeat and spell his last name.
| What did the main character first do when he came into the diner? | Duel
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He asked where the restroom was. He had run into a fence getting away from the demented truck driver, and he looked very frazzled.
| What state was the main character from? | Duel
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California. The showed his license plate at least once that I can remember.
| What did the main character refuse to get fixed at the service station? | Duel
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Radiator hose. Remember, David replied sarcastically when the service man said he needed a new hose. I know he wanted to kick himself later.
| What did the main character order at the diner? | Duel
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Cheese on rye. He never ate that sandwich. His paranoia was getting the best of him by then.
| What were the two school children doing that annoyed the main character? | Duel
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They were sitting on the hood of his car. He was very adamant about no one denting his hood by sitting on it. He even told the bus driver to get down when he was jumping on the hood to get them unstuck.
| Who did the main character tell to call the police for him? | Duel
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An old couple. He barely got the words out before the 'demented truck driver' tried to run them down.
| Who helped the school bus that was stuck? | Duel
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The truck driver(demented truck driver). The demented trucker came back for David, and stopped to help the kids. What a guy.
| Why did the main character call his wife? | Duel
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To apologize. Remember they had an arguement because David didn't do anything when the guy at the party was hitting on his wife.
| What happened to the truck at the end? | Duel
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It went off a cliff. The ending was kind of abrupt, like you're waiting for something else to happen. It's such a frantic movie, then it just stops.
Steven Spielberg. Spielberg had directed episodes of "Marcus Welby, MD", "The Name Of The Game" and "Night Gallery" among others. It was on the strength of an as yet unaired "Columbo" episode that he was offered "Duel".
Richard Matheson. Matheson tried (unsuccessfully) to pitch the idea to several TV series before writing it as a short story, published in "Playboy" magazine in 1970. ABC then commissioned a screenplay for a TV movie. Matheson had previously written many TV scripts, including several memorable "Twilight Zone" episodes.
Dennis Weaver. Spielberg had a vote, but not final say, on the casting. However, he had admired Weaver's performance in Orson Welles' 1958 classic "A Touch Of Evil", and so was thrilled with the network's choice for the role.
David Mann. Writer Richard Matheson chose the name Mann to emphasize the "ordinary" qualities of the character.
Red. It's a red 1970 Plymouth Valiant. Spielberg wanted the car to be ordinary, yet stand out - the other vehicles are all subdued colors. He used a similar device in 1991's "Schindler's List", when a young girl's red coat stands out in an otherwise black-and-white movie.
| What mechanical problem is pointed out early in the film by a service station attendant, but is ignored by the salesman - to his later regret? | "Duel" : The Ultimate in Road Rage
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Worn radiator hose. Mann assumes that the attendant is trying to make a quick buck, and decides to wait to replace the hose. It later fails, causing his engine to overheat at a critical moment.
| After blocking his way for several miles, the truck driver finally waves the car around him. What does the car's driver shout as he attempts to pass? | "Duel" : The Ultimate in Road Rage
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About time, Charlie!. His anger nearly keeps him from realizing that he's been waved into the path of an oncoming car. It's at this point that David Mann realizes that the truck driver is trying to kill him.
| After a harrowing chase, the car comes to a crashing halt in the parking lot of a diner. The salesman then goes inside to use the rest room. What does he see through the window when he comes out? | "Duel" : The Ultimate in Road Rage
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The truck parked in the diner's lot. After taking a few minutes to compose himself in the men's room, Mann emerges to see the truck that had chased him down the mountain, parked outside. He knows that the driver is in the diner with him - but which one is it?
His boots. Mann had glimpsed the truck driver's boots when both vehicles stopped at the first service station. Unfortunately, he picks the wrong man in the diner and a fight breaks out. During the scuffle the real driver slips out to his truck and waits to continue the chase.
FLAMMABLE. We never learn just what the payload is, but the idea that it could blow up at any moment adds to the tension.
| The salesman stops to help a stalled school bus full of children, but leaves when he sees the truck approaching. As he looks back, what is the truck doing? | "Duel" : The Ultimate in Road Rage
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Giving the bus a helpful push. Mann is unable to push the bus with his car - their bumpers lock. He gets free in time to drive away, and as he looks back he sees the truck attempting to push-start the bus, to the cheers of the children.
| The salesman flags down a car driven by an elderly couple, who leave the scene when they see the truck backing towards them. What does the truck do next? | "Duel" : The Ultimate in Road Rage
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Backs up to the front bumper of his car. The truck driver is toying with Mann now; he backs up to the bumper of the unattended car as if to say "Tag - you're it!", then pulls away and waits for the chase to resume. The duo who play the elderly couple can also be seen in Spielberg's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" - wearing gas masks in a helicopter.
Briefcase. In the climactic scene, Mann wedges his briefcase against the gas pedal and steers the car head-on into the truck. He jumps out just before they collide and plunge over a cliff.
Sitting on the cliff throwing rocks. The cops never show up. The credits roll over a shot of David Mann sitting above his vanquished foe, throwing rocks into the chasm.
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