Duel - actors, characters and roles

All actors and their roles in the film "Duel"
Duel (1971)
Timing: 1:29 (89 min)
Duel - TMDB rating
7.426/10
1782
Duel - Kinopoisk rating
7.547/10
14997
Duel - IMDB rating
7.6/10
86000

Actors and characters

Photo Dennis Weaver #54838Photo Dennis Weaver #54839Photo Dennis Weaver #54840

Dennis Weaver

Dennis Weaver
Character David Mann
Photo Jacqueline Scott #96987

Jacqueline Scott

Jacqueline Scott
Character Mrs. Mann
Photo Eddie Firestone #96988Photo Eddie Firestone #96989

Eddie Firestone

Eddie Firestone
Character Cafe Owner
Photo Lou Frizzell #96990Photo Lou Frizzell #96991

Lou Frizzell

Lou Frizzell
Character Bus Driver
Photo Gene Dynarski #96992Photo Gene Dynarski #96993Photo Gene Dynarski #96994

Gene Dynarski

Gene Dynarski
Character Man in Cafe
Photo Lucille Benson #76388

Lucille Benson

Lucille Benson
Character Lady at Snakerama
Photo Tim Herbert #96995
Tim Herbert
Character Gas Station Attendant

Charles Seel

Charles Seel
Character Old Man
Photo Shirley O
Shirley O'Hara
Character Waitress
Photo Alexander Lockwood #82646

Alexander Lockwood

Alexander Lockwood
Character Old Man in Car
Amy Douglass
Character Old Woman in Car
Dick Whittington
Character Radio Interviewer (voice)
Photo Carey Loftin #52587

Carey Loftin

Carey Loftin
Character The Truck Driver
Photo Dale Van Sickel #52618Photo Dale Van Sickel #73504

Dale Van Sickel

Dale Van Sickel
Character Car Driver
Shawn Steinman
Character Girl on school bus

What's left behind the scenes

  • On the car that Dennis Weaver's character mistakenly believes to be a police vehicle, you can notice the inscription “Grebleips” – Spielberg's surname written backwards.
  • Lucille Benson (the woman at the gas station) played a similar role in another Spielberg film – “1941.” The elderly couple in the car that Mann stops also appears in “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”
  • You can see 17 tally marks on the truck.
  • Mann's car is a 1970 Plymouth Valiant.
  • Footage from the film was used in one episode of the series "The Incredible Hulk" (1978). After Steven Spielberg found out about this, he insisted that all future contracts include a mandatory clause prohibiting studios from using footage from his films without his consent.
  • The number Mann calls his wife on was a real, working phone number at the time the film was made.
  • When Cary Loftin, who played the truck driver, asked Spielberg why his character was so relentlessly pursuing David Mann, Steven said: "Simply because you're the most repulsive and filthy son of a bitch to ever walk the earth." To which Cary replied: "Well, then I'm exactly what you need."
  • Dennis Weaver's acting in "Duel" convinced Spielberg that no better candidate for the role of the victim could be found.
  • No sets were built for the film.
  • According to the filmmakers, the license plates on the truck were taken from cars that it destroyed. According to Spielberg, the truck driver wanted to destroy one car in each state.
  • The film is partially based on a true story that happened to Richard Matheson.
  • Originally, it was a 74-minute television film made for ABC. But after its tremendous success on television, producers decided to expand the film and release it theatrically.
  • After the television broadcast, Spielberg shot several additional scenes for the theatrical release of the film.
  • The film was shot in 13 days (excluding additional scenes for the theatrical release).
  • After filming wrapped, Spielberg had just over three weeks for post-production.
  • During the filming of the scene where the truck falls off a cliff, the special equipment controlling the driverless car malfunctioned. To avoid losing time on repairs, a stuntman got behind the wheel of the truck and jumped out just a moment before the vehicle plunged into the abyss.
  • The scene at the railroad crossing, where the truck attempts to push Mann’s car under a train, was specifically shot for the theatrical release.
  • The truck driver's face is not shown, and his name is not mentioned. In the short story of the same name by Richard Matheson, the driver is named Keller, which sounds quite similar to the word 'killer'.
  • At the 56th minute, when the main character enters the phone booth, the film crew is clearly visible in the reflection.
  • On the car that the character played by Dennis Weaver mistakenly believes is a police vehicle, one can notice the inscription “Grebleips” – Spielberg’s surname written backwards.
  • Lucille Benson (the woman at the gas station) played a similar role in another Spielberg film – "1941". The elderly couple in the car stopped by Mann also appears in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind".
  • Footage from the film was used in one episode of the series "The Incredible Hulk" (1978). After learning about this, Steven Spielberg insisted that a mandatory clause be included in the contracts for his future projects, prohibiting studios from using footage from his films without his consent.
  • When Cary Loftin, who played the truck driver, asked Spielberg why his character was so persistently pursuing David Mann, Steven said: “Simply, you’re the most repulsive and filthy son of a bitch to ever walk the earth.” To which Cary replied: “Well, then I’m exactly what you need.”
  • Dennis Weaver's acting in "The Evil" convinced Spielberg that a better candidate for the role of the victim could not be found.
  • The truck driver's face is not shown, nor is his name mentioned. In Richard Matheson's story of the same name, the driver is named Keller, which sounds quite similar to the word "killer".
Did you like the film?

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