Dennis Weaver in Duel (1971)
Vitals
Dennis Weaver as David Mann, traveling salesman
Southern California, Summer 1971
Film: Duel
Release Date: November 13, 1971
Director: Steven Spielberg
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
I’d like to report a truck driver who’s been endangering my life.
Steven Spielberg made his directorial debut with the suspenseful “road rage” thriller Duel starring Dennis Weaver, the actor best known for his TV roles like Gunsmoke and McCloud who was born 100 years ago today on June 4, 1924. Duel was no exception as it first aired on ABC in November 1971; Spielberg would continue to distinguish himself with extraordinary TV direction for series like Columbo until he transitioned to the silver screen with The Sugarland Express (1974).
Weaver stars as David Mann, a mild-mannered and married salesman whose Plymouth Valiant is terrorized by a dilapidated Peterbilt 281 tanker truck driven by an unseen and murderous opponent antagonizing him across the desert highways, pitting this easygoing everyman as a valiant David against a gas-guzzling Goliath seeking to destroy him.
For this extensive automotive action, 23-year-old Spielberg recruited the best—veteran stunt coordinator Carey Loftin, whose career stretched back to the 1930s and included some of the most popular car chase movies of all time, including Thunder Road (1958), Bullitt (1968), Vanishing Point (1971), and The French Connection (1974).
Richard Matheson, author of science fiction like the 1954 novel I Am Legend, adapted the screenplay from his own 1971 short story that was based on his own actual experience when a trucker tailgated him along California State Route 126 through Ventura County eight years earlier. His script clarified that the truck driver should remain mostly unseen, a cinematic technique validated by Spielberg’s belief that fear of the unknown may be the greatest fear of all.
What’d He Wear?
Duel has no credited costume designer, but Matheson’s screenplay describes David Mann dressed with “his suit coat off, his tie removed, and his shirt collar opened, his sleeve cuffs folded back twice…” so it may have been Spielberg who decided to keep Weaver’s characterization more buttoned-up in a tie and fastened sleeves, perhaps more appropriate for a salesman keeping himself relatively presentable while fighting the stifling desert heat.
Mann wears a blue-and-white end-on-end cotton shirt, woven to present a solid light-blue. The shirt has a spread collar, front placket, box-pleated back, and rounded barrel cuffs with each single clear plastic button positioned higher toward the wrist rather than the center of the cuff.
David Mann seeks brief refuge in a roadside diner.
Mann wears a matte polyester tie patterned with repeating sets of five narrow red “downhill”-directional stripes against a dark navy ground, tied in a half-Windsor knot.
Note the matte finish of Mann’s tie, lacking the diagonal ribs characteristic of repp ties.
Mann’s khaki cotton trousers continue his safely uncreative uniform associated with the American business professional, though we don’t know if these are standalone slacks or orphaned from a matching suit as Matheson’s screenplay mentioned that he had taken “his suit coat off”. These flat-front trousers have a long rise to Dennis Weaver’s natural waist line, where they’re held up by a smooth brown leather belt that closes through a gold-toned single-prong square buckle. The trousers have straight side pockets, a front slit pocket just under the right belt-line, and two jetted back pockets with a button to close the left one.
The trousers taper through the legs down to the plain-hemmed bottoms, which have a medium break over the tops of his shoes. Rather than dressier lace-ups, Mann wears slip-on loafers that would likely be more comfortable for a corporate road warrior spending hours at a time behind the wheel. Though not as formal as lace-up oxfords or derbies, these loafers’ plain-toe profile would harmonize better with business attire than moc-toe slip-ons.
Constructed with russet grain leather uppers, these shoes are styled with elastic over each instep (to ease the wearers’ feet in) but tucked under the extended vamp (for a more polished appearance). In his review of James Bond’s slip-on shoes, Matt Spaiser comments that these are a signature style from estimable London shoemaker John Lobb Ltd. and had been a real-life favorite of Bond’s literary creator, Ian Fleming.
Mann also wears dark-brown ribbed dress socks.
Arguably the most distinctive aspect of David Mann’s costume is his eyewear, a set of gold-framed aviator-style sunglasses with “bug eye” yellow-tinted lenses. These sunglasses are the first we see of Mann, glimpsed in his rear-view mirror, and he continues to wear them through most of the movie.
Strapped to his left wrist on a black leather bracelet, Mann wears a stainless steel wristwatch with a light-colored dial—likely silver or plain white—detailed with non-numeric hour indices.
The Car
Unlike Robert Mitchum’s souped-up Fords in Thunder Road, Steve McQueen’s iconic green Mustang in Bullitt, or Kowalski’s white Challenger in Vanishing Point, stunt coordinator Carey Loftin wasn’t working with an enviable muscle car for our hero’s duel against the semi-truck. Steven Spielberg reportedly didn’t care about the specific model that David Mann drove, as long as it was painted red to contrast brightly against the desert landscape.
Mann thus drove a 1970 Plymouth Valiant four-door sedan, a relatively common model often described as a typical “grocery getter”. Dale Vinten’s excellent article for Car & Classic suggests that there was still intentionality behind this choice, as the simple appearance belies the journey undertaken by the car and character together, “mirroring Weaver’s character’s eventual metamorphosis into the plucky and courageous victor at the end of the film.”
David Mann powers his valiant Valiant through the California desert, wearing considerable dirt and dust from its ongoing battle with the Peterbilt 281.
Built on Chrysler’s compact “A-body” platform, the Valiant model originated in 1959 and underwent several redesigns by the time the penultimate third generation was launched for the 1967 model year. Produced from 1967 through 1973, these Valiants were sold in two body styles: a two-door and a four-door. Chrysler’s 225 cubic-inch “Slant Six” six-cylinder engine had been available since the start, but the ’68 Valiant was the first to offer the 318 V8.
For all intents and purposes, we can consider Mann’s canonical Valiant to be a 1970 model powered by the 225 Slant Six mated to a TorqueFlite automatic transmission, as it seems the most work was used to make the other on-screen cars resemble this model. The fact that this motor generated a relatively paltry 145 horsepower makes it an even more desperate prey to its overpowered foe.
Plymouth offered several shades of red for the 1970 Valiant exterior, with the bright “Rally Red” (E5) and iridescent “Tor-Red” (V2) closest to the coral-red Valiant that Weaver drives in Duel. At least three cars were used for the production: a genuine 1970 Valiant with a 225 Slant Six, a later 1971 Valiant also with a 225 Slant Six, and a 1969 Valiant powered by a 318 V8 that was modified to look like a 1970 and used for heavy stunts like the finale. When Spielberg was contracted to shoot additional scenes for Duel‘s theatrical release in 1972, a newer 1972 Valiant (also with the 225 Slant Six) was used.
David Mann’s 1970 Plymouth Valiant attempts to outrun the Peterbilt hellbent on chaos.
1970 Plymouth Valiant
Body Style: 4-door sedan
Layout: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive (RWD)
Engine: 225 cu. in. (3.7 L) Chrysler “Slant Six” six-cylinder engine with Holley 1-barrel carburetor
Power: 145 hp (108 kW; 108 PS) @ 4000 RPM
Torque: 215 lb·ft (292 N·m) @ 2400 RPM
Transmission: 3-speed TorqueFlite automatic
Wheelbase: 108 inches (2743 mm)
Length: 188.4 inches (4785 mm)
Width: 71.1 inches (1806 mm)
Height: 54 inches (1372 mm)
The already popular Valiant had its best-selling year in 1972, with the fourth and final generation launched in 1974 as essentially a re-badged Dodge Dart. Plymouth discontinued the Valiant after the 1976 model year, when the Valiant and Dart were respectively superseded by the Plymouth Volaré and Dodge Aspen.
How to Get the Look
Dennis Weaver in Duel (1971)
Dressed less like the traditional action hero and more like the “everyman” facing a Goliath as suggested by his name, David Mann’s off-the-rack costume reflects the safe blue shirt, striped tie, khakis, and loafers still associated with American office drones more than a half-century later.
- Light-blue end-on-end cotton shirt with spread collar, front placket, single-button rounded cuffs, and box-pleated back
- Navy (with red narrow downhill stripe sets) matte polyester tie
- Khaki cotton flat-front trousers with belt loops, side pockets, right slit front pocket, jetted back pockets (with button-through left), and plain-hemmed bottoms
- Brown smooth leather belt with gold-toned square single-prong buckle
- Russet grain leather elastic-instep slip-on loafers
- Dark-brown ribbed dress socks
- G0ld-framed aviator-style sunglasses with “bug eye”-shaped yellow lenses
- Stainless steel wristwatch with round silver dial (with non-numeric hour indices) on black leather strap
Do Yourself a Favor and…
Check out the movie.
The Quote
You can’t beat me on the grade!
The post Dennis Weaver in Duel appeared first on BAMF Style.