page_title: Duel (1971 film)
section_title: Vehicles
hierarchical_section_title: Duel (1971 film) / Production / Vehicles
caption_attribution_description: English: The Peterbilt 281 and Peterbilt 351 model of trucks are virtually identical, but there are differences if you know where to look. The front radiator/grill is different, and the later 351 model has rear mudflaps on the back wheels - The 1955 Peterbilt does not. The air conditioning box on the back cab differs, and the Peterbilt 281 has a drip guard above the cab windows and door. Apart from a few mechanical differences, visually the trucks have differences too. The older Peterbilt 281 is generally more beat up, it has more dents and bumps. While the Peterbilt 351 has less wear and tear and straighter edges all round. The Peterbilt 351 has been weathered slightly darker, and with more of a rust effect. It also has a Peterbilt makers badge on both sides of the bonnet nose, the Peterbilt 281 seen in the film does not carry these badges.
context_page_description: Duel is a 1971 American action thriller film written by Richard Matheson, which is based on his own 1971 short story. It is the feature full-length directorial debut of American director, producer, and screenwriter Steven Spielberg, and is distributed by Universal Pictures.
  Dennis Weaver portrays David Mann, a business commuter from California driving a Plymouth Valiant while on his way to meet a client. He soon finds himself chased by the mostly unseen driver of a rusted Peterbilt 281 who chases and terrorizes Mann after Mann overtakes him.
  Originally aired as a television film as part of the ABC Movie of the Week series on November 13, 1971, Duel later received an international theatrical release in an extended version featuring scenes shot after the film's original broadcast. The film was critically acclaimed upon release for Spielberg's direction, and it has since been recognized as an influential cult classic.
context_section_description: The car was carefully chosen, a red Plymouth Valiant, although three cars were used in the actual production of the movie.
  The original release of Duel featured a 1970 model with a 318 V-8 engine and "Plymouth" spelled out in block letters across the hood, as well as trunk lid treatment characteristic of the 1970 model; a 1971 model with a 225 Slant Six was also used. When the film was released in theaters and scenes were added, a 1972 model with a 225 Slant Six was added, with the "Plymouth" name on the hood as one emblem. All the Valiants were equipped with a TorqueFlite automatic transmission.
  Spielberg did not care what kind of car was used in the film, but insisted the final chosen model be red to enable the vehicle to stand out from the general landscape in the wide shots of the desert highway.
  Spielberg had what he called an "audition" for the truck, wherein he viewed a series of trucks to choose the one for the film. He selected the older 1955 Peterbilt 281 over the current flat-nosed "cab-over" style of trucks because the long hood of the Peterbilt, its split windshield, and its round headlights gave it more of a "face", adding to its menacing personality. Additionally, Spielberg said that the multiple license plates on the front bumper of the Peterbilt subtly suggested that the truck driver is a serial killer, having "run down other drivers in other states". For each shot, several people were tasked to make it uglier; each successively adding oil, grease, fake dead insects and other blemishes.
  The truck had twin rear axles, a CAT 1674 turbocharged engine with a 13-speed transmission, making it capable of hauling loads over 30 tons and top speeds reaching 75–80 mph. During the original filming, the crew only had one truck, so the shots of the truck falling off the cliff had to be completed in one take. For the film's theatrical release, two additional trucks were purchased in order to film the additional scenes that were not in the original made-for-television version (the scene where David telephones his wife, the school bus scene and the railroad crossing scene).
  One of these, a 1964 Peterbilt 351, virtually identical to the original truck except for its air intake, roof mounted horn position, brake lines between the tractor and trailer, mud flaps on the back of the twin rear tyres and a support shelf for the air conditioning unit, was later destroyed in another movie production. The other truck, a 1961 Peterbilt 351, has survived. It was kept and prepared as a back up for the 1964 truck, but wasn't used. It has changed ownership several times and is currently owned by a truck collector, on display at Brad's Trucks in North Carolina.
  Apart from a few mechanical differences, the trucks also exhibited visual differences. The older Peterbilt 281 had more dents and bumps, while the Peterbilt 351 had less wear and tear and straighter edges all round. The Peterbilt 351 was weathered slightly darker, with more of a rust effect. It also has a Peterbilt maker's badge on both sides of the bonnet nose, while the Peterbilt 281 seen in the film does not carry such a badge.
  Stock footage of both vehicles was later used in an episode of the television series The Incredible Hulk, titled "Never Give a Trucker an Even Break". Spielberg was not happy about this, but the usage was legal, as the show was produced by Universal and the Duel contract said nothing about reusing the footage in other Universal productions.
caption: Comparison of the two different trucks used in filming
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