Walker

In 1853, William Walker, a seasoned soldier-of-fortune, flees Mexico after a failed attempt to spark an armed insurrection. He is brought to trial by a U.S. official for breaking the Neutrality Act, but wins acquittal after delivering a rousing speech to the jury.

Walker plans to settle down and start a newspaper, but his fiancée Ellen Martin dies of cholera. Soon after, American magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt offers him a mission: to bring stability to Nicaragua by aiding the Democratic Party in its civil war against the Legitimists, a move that would secure Vanderbilt’s rights to the critical overland shipping route. He accepts and gathers 60 mercenaries to join the effort.

Against heavy losses, Walker’s company scores brutal victories in Rivas and Granada. In the heat of battle, he strolls through the chaos with a calm, almost prophetic ease.

When the capital falls, the President remains in power while his mistress, Doña Yrena, seduces him.

Learning that the President plans to rally other Central American nations to expel the Americans, Walker orders the President executed for treason and seizes the presidency through a rigged election.

From 1855 to 1857, his rule grows more erratic. He revokes Vanderbilt’s license to the route and seizes ships, straining the alliance with his financier. When a brother challenges him, he kills him.

Cut off from supplies and reinforcements, he tries to export slavery to Nicaragua to win backing from the Southern states, prompting the African-American soldiers in his legion to desert. The pressure mounts as neighboring countries invade.

Yrena returns to try to stop the carnage, but he refuses and orders the town burned. Taking refuge in a church, he delivers a final, defiant speech to his remaining men and to Nicaraguan prisoners, declaring that the day will never come when America leaves Nicaragua alone, stating that > it is America’s destiny to be there

As troops accompany American forces to evacuate civilians, Walker declares himself as the President of the Republic of Nicaragua, but is ultimately left behind when foreign troops move in. The film ends with his execution on a beach by Honduran soldiers, followed by onscreen clips of U.S. President Reagan discussing Nicaragua and American military actions in the region.

Last Updated: November 29, 2025 at 00:47