His popular flying circus caught the attention of Hollywood, and he starred in The Great Air Robbery (1919), a screenplay about the mid-air piracy of a US airmail plane.

[2] A second lieutenant at the end of the World War I, Locklear had been assigned to military recruitment when he saw a barnstorming show and realized his own usual flying exploits were far more impressive.

[3] On April 7, 1920, Locklear was flying in the city of Los Angeles, California, where he was issued the first aviation law violation for reckless aerial driving.

Carl Laemmle, head of Universal Pictures, agreed to purchase all of Locklear's future air show dates in July 1919 in order to have him on contract for a proposed two-film series.

Besides being used as a base for flying,[clarification needed] Locklear's Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" aircraft was also mounted on a raised wooden platform at the airfield in order to film closeups.

[8] Reviews were generally favourable, as The Great Air Robbery was the first of a cycle of postwar films dealing with the exploits of stunt pilots.

The melodrama's use of airplanes for midnight mail deliveries, highway, or rather highair, robberies, and battles between the forces of law and lawlessness adds excitement.

Unwilling to go back to the air show circuit, Locklear wanted to continue his Hollywood career, and in April 1920, he was signed to star in The Skywayman (1920).

[15] The last stunt scheduled for filming for The Skywayman 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, with not only his family life being in upheaval but also learning that studio head William Fox was not going to extend his contract beyond one film, demanded that he be allowed to fly at night.

[17] 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.

[19] In front of spectators and film crew, Locklear and his long-time flying partner "Skeets" Elliot crashed heavily into the sludge pool of an oil well, never pulling out of the incipient spin.

[20] With the entire film already completed except for the night scene, Fox made the decision to capitalize on the fatal crash by rushing The Skywayman into post-production and release.