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The origin of that phrase is a supreme court case where the court ruled that the First Amendment didn't protect you from passing out pamphlets encouraging men to resist conscription during World War 1. The "fire in a crowded theater" line was just a metaphor used to underscore a ruling I imagine most people today disagree with, and wasn't legally binding in any way.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schenck_v._United_States#The_C...

Falsely yelling "fire" in a crowded theater is illegal because the First Amendment has exceptions for lying (i.e., asserting an objective falsehood with intent to deceive).

Yelling fire in a crowded theater after lighting a match is not lying. The problem is not lying, it is recklessness. The only problem with lying is that it is also sometimes reckless.

This is only because we live in imperfect bodies that can die before the discussion can be finished. This is not an argument against free speech, this is an argument about the speed of human communication.

Is that really illegal or just a cliche?