to fail. Losing speed, he just manages to reach the summit. He then coasts downhill in neutral, with the truck following. Mann spins out and slams sideways into a cliff wall. He is able to restart his car and barely escape being crushed by the truck. Mann drives up a dirt road to the edge of a canyon, turning to face the truck. Mann jams the accelerator down with his briefcase and steers his car into the oncoming truck, jumping free at the last moment. The truck hits the car, which bursts into flames, obscuring the driver's view. The truck pushes the burning car over the edge of the cliff, then continues over the edge itself, and both vehicles crash into the canyon. Blood is seen dripping inside the truck's cab. Above the wreckage, Mann rejoices in his victory as the truck burns. Mann then sits down at the cliff's edge, exhausted, and throws pebbles in the direction of the destroyed truck as the sun sets. Cast Dennis Weaver as David Mann Dale Van Sickel served as Weaver's stunt driver. Jacqueline Scott as Mrs. Mann Carey Loftin as Truck Driver Eddie Firestone as Café Owner Lou Frizzell as Bus Driver Eugene Dynarski as Man in Café Lucille Benson as Lady at Snakerama Tim Herbert as Gas Station Attendant Charles Seel as Old Man Shirley O'Hara as Waitress Alexander Lockwood as Jim, Old Man in Car Amy Douglass as Old Woman in Car Sweet Dick Whittington as Radio Interviewer Production Richard Matheson adapted the script from his own short story, which was 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 22, 1963, the same day as the 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 for ABC and suggested he apply to be the director. Duel was Spielberg's second feature-length directing effort, after "L.A. 2017",