The Great Man's Lady is a 1942 American Western film directed by William A. Wellman and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Joel McCrea.

[4] A statue is being dedicated to the late founder of Hoyt City, and reporters from around the country have gathered, speculating that "the old lady's going to talk."

The intruders leave, having learned nothing to prove or disprove the many rumors, but Hannah is persuaded to tell her story to a young female biographer who lags behind.

Hannah meets and flirts with a young pioneer and dreamer, Ethan Hoyt, who comes to her home seeking financial backing from her father in order to build a city in the western wilderness.

After burying the twins, and believing that Hannah is also dead, Steely travels to Virginia City to tell Ethan the tragic news.

Hannah refuses her father's request, and travels to Hoyt City, where she watches Ethan giving a political speech.

No longer a champion of the people as he once dreamed of becoming, Ethan is now a man of wealth and power, participating in corrupt practices to achieve private goals.

The story concludes as it started, with the aged Hannah and the young female biographer discussing Ethan Hoyt, standing beneath the impressive statue.

The biographer now realizes the profound role that Hannah played in Ethan's life and success, and in the founding of this now great city.

Before Hanna leaves the statue, the old woman tears up the marriage certificate she has kept all these years, saying of his myth, and perhaps their relationship, "Forever, Ethan.