Steven Spielberg’s resume is studded with box-office blockbusters and iconic award winners.
But the guy behind classics like Jaws, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Saving Private Ryan cut his teeth on a made-for-TV movie, albeit one that’s now considered a cult classic.
Spielberg made his feature film debut with Duel, which premiered Nov. 13, 1971, as the ABC Movie of the Week.
Duel starred Dennis Weaver as David Mann, a meek businessman who gets into a deadly chase through rural California with an unseen driver of a massive tanker truck.
The film was based on a short story written by Richard Matheson. He was inspired when he was cut off by a trucker while driving on a California freeway. The incident occurred on Nov. 22, 1963, the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, according to Amblin Entertainment’s website.
Playboy published the story in April 1971. Spielberg’s assistant, Nona Tyson, brought it to Spielberg’s attention.
“I said, ‘Wow, this is terrifying. This is like a Hitchcock movie.’ It was like Psycho or The Birds, only it’s on wheels,” Spielberg said in an interview on YouTube.
Tyson also told Spielberg that Matheson was adapting the story for an upcoming TV movie produced by George Eckstein. Spielberg contacted Eckstein and showed him a rough cut of an unaired episode of Columbo he directed. The two had another meeting, after which Eckstein offered Spielberg the chance to direct the movie.
“That’s how it all began,” Spielberg said.
ABC promoted Duel with print ads and a press screening. The movie was praised by critics, scoring a 90% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and winning an Emmy for sound editing. Duel also earned a Golden Globe nomination for best movie made for TV.
In June, Empire Magazine ranked it 13th among Spielberg’s 35 feature films.
Four years later, Spielberg achieved stardom with the success of 1975’s Jaws, which included a similar sound effect he used in Duel.
“I put the sound at the same point that the fin of the shark came out of the cloud of blood like the truck came out of the cloud of dirt,” Spielberg said. “It was a little bit of a self-congratulatory pat on the back. But it was also kind of like saying, ‘Gee, thank you, Duel, for putting me on the map. Gee, thank you for giving me a career.’”
