Truck Driver

Villain Overview Gallery

Evil-doer
Full Name	Unknown
Alias	The Truck Driver
Origin	Duel
Occupation	Truck Driver
Powers / Skills	Driving Stalking Obsession and persistence
Hobby	Chasing and stalking David Mann.
Goals	Kill David Mann (failed).
Crimes	Serial murder Stalking Destruction of property Animal cruelty
Type of Villain	Unseen Stalker

The Truck Driver is the main antagonist of Steven Spielberg's first directed movie, the 1971 television film Duel. He drives a large rusty 1955 Peterbilt 281 gasoline tanker truck.

He was portrayed by the late Carey Loftin.

Biography

The film's protagonist named David Mann (while traveling on a freeway) gets chased by a big truck whose driver, for no explained motive, wants to kill him. The driver seems to attract victims by purposely driving slowly in order to make them overtake him. Once his victim has passed him he then speeds up and forces his victims off the road, typically killing his victim. The movie focuses on the thrilling car chase.

The driver is never fully shown to the audience; only his feet and his arm (when waving Mann) are shown, but the rest of his body is a mystery.

The driver's motives are unexplained. He seems to stalk Mann for the thrill. For example, he usually does not attack Mann when he is out of his car, unless to scare him and get him back in the chase. Also, the truck attacks only Mann, and no one else, since it considers him to be his prey, and wants to achieve the chase.

The driver of the truck also assists other drivers, excluding Mann himself, when they are in distress. In one scene a school bus has stalled and only after Mann fails to start the bus, the truck driver helps the stranded school bus by push starting it with his truck. However, this may be a form of mockery at Mann for failing to assist the bus himself- or possibly so he could resume attacking him without distractions.

In the movie, the driver's only target seems to be David Mann, although there are numerous license plates on the bumper of the truck, implying that the driver had several previous victims. The driver is also willing to put other drivers in danger in order to kill Mann, as seen early in the movie when the driver signals Mann to overtake him, while unbeknownst to Mann there is another driver heading in the opposite direction.

After a long chase, Mann tricks his enemy to run into his car, and blinds him because of the large fireball produced from Mann's car when the truck driver collides with Mann's car. The truck driver realizes too late that he is heading for a cliff. He then pulls his air horn and activates the emergency brake, with little success and the truck plummets down the side of the cliff, destroying it and killing the driver.

Trivia

• According to Stephen Spielberg, the truck's animal-like roar that can be heard as it drives off the cliff at the climax is meant to imply something supernatural about the truck and its driver.
• When the truck plunges down the cliff, the driver door can be seen opening as the driver attempts to escape. By the blood seen in the wreckage, he was unable to escape in time.
  • This was how actor Carey Loftin avoided certain death during the filming. The fake blood was added to make it look like he was killed.