Broncho Billy Gets Square

Broncho Billy Gets Square follows the complications that erupt when a sizable reward is posted for the capture of two men, Broncho Billy and David Kirkland. Officials promise that whichever of them betrays the other and turns state's evidence will be granted freedom, and that temptation strains loyalties and alliances. The story tracks how those stakes affect relationships in a small frontier community, including ties to Grace Todd and her father, and White Feather, a woman whose choices influence both outlaws. Action, pursuit and tense moral bargaining drive the plot, as characters weigh self-preservation against honor. The short keeps events tight and direct, focusing on character reactions rather than elaborate backstory, and it avoids revealing later turns in the tale.

Directed and headlined by Gilbert M. Anderson, this 1913 silent Western features Evelyn Selbie and Marguerite Clayton alongside Anderson. Shot as a short piece for early cinema audiences, it reflects the filmmaking conventions and production economy of the prefeature era.

Reliable box office records for 1913 shorts are scarce, and no confirmed gross is available for this title. Like many films of the era, it would have circulated through regional exchanges and nickelodeons rather than earning a centralized theatrical tally.

Broncho Billy Gets Square belongs to the early body of Western shorts that helped shape audience expectations for cowboys on screen. Gilbert M. Anderson's 'Broncho Billy' persona became one of the first recurring cowboy figures in American cinema, contributing to the genre's language of heroism, moral tests, and frontier settings.

Contemporary reviews for many 1913 shorts are limited, and specific critiques for this film are hard to locate. The piece emphasizes themes of loyalty, betrayal, legal pressure, and personal honor, and modern viewers tend to regard it as an instructive example of early storytelling and economical, distinct silent-era performance styles.