The Pope of Greenwich Village

The Pope of Greenwich Village

Year: 1984

Runtime: 121 mins

Language: English

Director: Stuart Rosenberg

ComedyCrimeActionCrime

Charlie and his trouble‑making cousin Paulie are two dreamers desperate for a break. They hatch a plan to steal $150,000 to bankroll a racehorse Paulie believes is a sure winner based on insider tips. After the heist, they draw the ire of a powerful local mob boss and face a crooked New York City police force, spiralling into dangerous trouble.

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Timeline & Setting – The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984)

Explore the full timeline and setting of The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

Location

Greenwich Village, New York City

The film unfolds in the gritty, immigrant-heavy streets of Greenwich Village, a working-class enclave known for family-owned businesses and vibrant nightlife. Its cafés, tenements, and social clubs form the backdrop against which Charlie and Paulie chase a restaurant dream and a dangerous shortcut to money. The neighborhood's close-knit atmosphere amplifies loyalty, ambition, and the consequences of crime.

🗽 New York City 🏙️ Urban Neighborhood 🍝 Italian-American Culture

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 13:04

Main Characters – The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984)

Meet the key characters of The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Charlie Moran (Mickey Rourke)

A restaurant hopeful and street-smart maître d'hôtel who dreams of owning his own place. His desperation to support his alimony and pregnant girlfriend Diane pulls him into a dangerous heist. He remains pragmatic and protective, balancing ambition with a rough-edged sense of loyalty.

🍽️ Ambition 🧭 Pragmatism 💔 Romantic Loyalty

Paulie Gibonni (Eric Roberts)

A bungling yet cunning waiter whose schemes kick off the heist. His fear of debt and family pressures push him into risky choices, and he ultimately agrees to rat on Charlie under mob pressure. He is pragmatic but self-preserving, often acting as the glue and the liability of the plan.

💰 Greed 🤐 Deception 👨‍👦 Family ties

Diane (Daryl Hannah)

Charlie's pregnant girlfriend who supports him but grows wary of crime. She ultimately takes the money to secure their unborn child's future, catalyzing Charlie's shift from partner in crime to defender of escape. Her departure marks the emotional cost of their choices.

💞 Love 🤰 Pregnancy 💔 Breakup

Barney (Kenneth McMillan)

A clock repairman and locksmith who helps crack the safe, becoming a key link in the group's plan. His skills and street-smarts tie the crew together, but he, too, is drawn into consequences that force an exit from town. He embodies the practical, resourceful side of the crew.

🗝️ Locksmith 🤝 Loyalty 💼 Crime Link

Bed Bug Eddie Grant

The mob boss whose stolen money the crew supposedly acts against. He wields power and violence to enforce debt and discipline, and his crew is quick to exact punishment when things go wrong. The confrontation with Eddie's world underscores the brutality behind every clever theft.

💥 Power 🕵️‍♂️ Control

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 13:04

Major Themes – The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984)

Explore the central themes of The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

💰 Crime & Consequences

A seemingly foolproof heist spirals into a web of betrayals. Greed and miscalculation pull Charlie, Paulie, and Barney deeper into danger as the plan unravels. The police, mobsters, and rival loyalties collide, showing how one risky choice can ruin many lives. The film uses the heist to expose character flaws and the price of crime.

🤝 Loyalty & Betrayal

The cousins' bond drives their decisions, even as fear and pressure fray their trust. Diane's loyalty tests Charlie's priorities when she takes the money for their unborn child. Paulie's readiness to name Charlie under mob pressure reveals how quickly loyalty can tilt toward self-preservation. The story threads together familial ties with cold-blooded consequences.

🔥 Survival & Morality

Desperation pushes ordinary people toward illegal shortcuts, forcing them to weigh survival against ethics. Each character calculates risk, hoping for a better future while ignoring the creeping costs. The climactic choice to drink away the danger — or to walk away with a slice of the loot — tests their moral limits. The ending underscores that survival sometimes means letting go.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 13:04

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Explore Movie Threads

Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.

Movies about small-time crime dreams gone wrong like The Pope of Greenwich Village

Ambitious small-timers bite off more than they can chew with the mob.If you liked The Pope of Greenwich Village, explore more films where small-time hustlers and dreamers attempt a big score, only to face dangerous consequences from the mob. These movies capture the desperate ambition and harsh realities of urban crime, often featuring tense heists and misjudged loyalties.

desperateanxiousstreetwisegrittytenseclaustrophobicmelancholic

Narrative Summary

The narrative typically begins with a flawed but relatable plan for a quick payoff, driven by desperation or ambition. The central heist or scheme inevitably goes awry, revealing a web of dangerous alliances and brutal retribution. The story then becomes a desperate struggle for survival against overwhelming odds, often resulting in shattered dreams and harsh lessons.

Why These Movies?

These films are grouped by their shared focus on the collision between small-scale ambition and large-scale criminal power. They evoke a specific feeling of anxious desperation, grounded in realistic urban settings, where the consequences of crime are immediate and brutal.

Movies about tense buddy crime partnerships like The Pope of Greenwich Village

A volatile partnership unravels under the pressure of a disastrous plan.Fans of the chaotic dynamic between Charlie and Paulie in The Pope of Greenwich Village will enjoy these films. Discover similar stories of volatile partnerships tested by crime, where loyalties are strained and plans spiral into chaos, capturing a mix of tension and character-driven drama.

tensechaoticdesperatestreetwiseanxiousgrittymelancholicclaustrophobic

Narrative Summary

The core of these stories is the relationship between two central characters whose complementary strengths become fatal flaws under pressure. The plot is driven by their poor decisions and escalating conflicts with external forces, leading to a climax that irrevocably changes their relationship, often leaving it damaged or destroyed.

Why These Movies?

Movies in this thread share a specific character dynamic that fuels the narrative tension. The experience is defined by the uneasy mix of camaraderie and friction between the leads, set against a fast-paced crime plot that pushes their loyalty to the breaking point.

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The Pope of Greenwich Village Summary

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The Pope of Greenwich Village Summary

The Pope of Greenwich Village Timeline

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The Pope of Greenwich Village Timeline

The Pope of Greenwich Village Spoiler-Free Summary

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The Pope of Greenwich Village Spoiler-Free Summary

More About The Pope of Greenwich Village

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