Steven Spielberg’s early-career made-for-tv thriller Duel famously never revealed the identity of its villainous truck driver, and the director had a specific motivation for this creative decision. Spielberg’s second feature-length directorial effort after his Name of the Game episode, “L.A. 2017,” Duel stars Dennis Weaver as a commuter on the run from a dangerous trucker. The screenplay by Richard Matheson was adapted from his own short story of the same name, originally published in Playboy magazine. It won the Grand Prize at the 1973 Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival and an Emmy for sound editing, and is now a beloved cult classic revered as one of the all-time greatest made-for-tv movies.

While driving across the California desert to meet with a client, a business commuter – played by Gunsmoke star Weaver – finds himself tormented by the driver of a semi-trailer truck, who is determined to run him off the road. The...