How about a movie that’s just a chase scene?  No, I don’t mean something like Smokey and the Bandit, or even Cannonball Run.  I’m talking about a chase movie that’s entirely Burt Reynolds free!!  Now, that I have your attention, how about a little movie called Duel?

     It’s a little old, it’s from 1971 and it was made for TV, but it was directed by a guy you might’ve heard of.  Steven Speilberg!  Yes, ET, Schindler’s List, AI, Saving Private Ryan, that Steven Speilberg.  Only this time he’s working with Dennis Weaver and a giant red truck.  That’s right, a giant red truck!  The story here is basically that the giant red truck hates Dennis Weaver and wants to run him over.  I never really figured out why, except that maybe the truck saw too many episodes of McCloud and just couldn’t take it anymore.  I know that after I’ve seen a couple of episodes of McCloud, I’m not stopping my truck for Dennis Weaver!!  But, basically, that’s the story.  The truck hates Dennis, Dennis runs from the truck and…well, that’s it!  It sounds a little thin, and it kind of it, but remember this was 1971, people were being entertained by disco for God’s sake, being run over by a truck was like a blessing after listening to hours of the Bee Gee’s on the radio.  Trust me, after that Saturday Night Fever came out and disco was everywhere, I, too, often ran out into oncoming traffic, just to escape!! 

     But, enough reminiscing, let’s get back to business.  Duel was one of the last TV movies Stevey made before going off to the big screen with a little movie you might’ve heard of, called Jaws!!  Well, Duel is no Jaws, but it’s still a giant truck chasing a guy.  And I can really identify with this premise.  I can’t tell you how many times, some dumb-ass has cut me off in traffic and I’ve wanted to chase him all over the country in my truck, but, as my counselor says, that’s wrong and I have to fight that urge!  Instead, I just watch Duel, and you should too.  It’s not bad, and it’s always fun to see Dennis Weaver chased by a truck…not that I’ve ever chased him, that, too, would be bad and wrong!!  And, until next time, remember, the best movies are bad movies!!