The review

A senator returns for the funeral of a man the territory has half forgotten, and a newspaperman asks for the famous story. The famous story is that the lawyer shot the outlaw who was terrorizing the town. The film spends its length showing you the street as it was. I will not spoil the correction for anyone who has not seen it. I will say the correction is the point, and the film does not then pretend the correction was optional.

The line people quote — when the legend becomes fact, print the legend — is said by a newspaperman. It is not said by the film. The film has already printed the fact for you. That distinction is why this is worth an evening when a dozen larger westerns of the same years are not. Watch it and ask what the town gained by the lie, and what the man in the coffin paid. A marriage, a vote, and a classroom are all in the price. Do not let the quote circulate in your house without the scene that answers it.