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The Skywayman is a 1920 American silent action drama film directed by James P. Hogan and produced and distributed by Fox Film Corporation. The film starred noted aerial stunt pilot Ormer Locklear and Louise Lovely. After having appeared in The Great Air Robbery (1919), a film that showcased his aerial talents, Locklear, considered the foremost "aviation stunt man in the world", was reluctant to return to the air show circuit.Farmer 1984, pp. 10, 16. During the production, Locklear and his co-pilot Milton "Skeets" Elliot died after crashing during a night scene. The Skywayman was subsequently released shortly after, capitalizing on their deaths.Pendo 1985, pp. 5–6.
No footage of The Skywayman is known to exist, and the film is now considered lost film.
Principal photography on The Skywayman began on June 11, 1920, with DeMille Field 2 in Los Angeles as the main base of operations, although scenes were also shot in and around San Francisco.Pendo 1985, p. 5. Despite Locklear's public claim that new stunts "more daring ever filmed" would be involved, the production would rely heavily on models and less on actual stunt flying.Farmer 1984, pp. 20–21. Two stunts, a church steeple being toppled by Locklear's aircraft and an aircraft-to-train transfer, were both problematic and nearly ended in disaster.
The last stunt scheduled for filming was a nighttime spin, initially to take place in daylight with cameras fitted with red filters to simulate darkness. Locklear, under a lot of pressure, not only with his family life in upheaval but also learning that the studio head, William Fox, was not going to extend his contract beyond one film, demanded that he be allowed to fly at night.Farmer 1984, p. 23. The studio relented, and on August 2, 1920, publicity surrounding the stunt led to a large crowd gathering to witness the filming of the unusual stunt.Pendo 1985, p. 6. Large studio arc lights were set up on DeMille Field 2 to illuminate the Curtiss "Jenny", to be doused as the aircraft entered its final spin, to be turned off when the plane dropped to a certain altitude to inform Locklear about his position. The arc lights were never turned off though,"Hollywood", Ep. 5 - "Hazards of the Game" and to shocked spectators and film crew, Locklear and his long-time flying partner Milton "Skeets" Elliot crashed heavily into the sludge pool of an oil well, never pulling out of the spin. Both occupants died instantly at the scene.Wynne 1987, p. 24.
With the entire film already "in the can" except for the night scene, Fox made the decision to capitalize on the crash and deaths of Locklear and Elliot by rushing The Skywayman into production and release.Paris 1995, p. 56.
The review in the Los Angeles Times noted: "The greatest monument that could be built to any man – the privilege of living on after all else has gone – is what 'The Skywayman' showing will do. What is gone in the flesh will live on forevermore on the screen."
In Hollywood (1980), a television series on the silent era, actresses Leatrice Joy and Viola Dana recalled Locklear and the making of The Skywayman. A tearful Dana, who was in a relationship with Locklear at the time, described his fatal aerial accident in the "Hazards of the Game" episode.
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