The Little Tramp

The good kismet continued into week two with spectacular weather and a special treat on our next excursion: a tour of Chaplin’s World. The recently opened museum is dedicated to Charlie Chaplin, one of the most iconic comic actors, filmmakers and composers of the silent film industry of the early 20th century, on the grounds of his home in Corsier-sur-Vevey in the Swiss canton of Vaud.

Chaplin’s rags-to-riches tale, from his tattered youth in South London to his meteoric rise in vaudeville and then silent films in Hollywood, has everything you could want in a good story: the second son of two struggling music hall singers with serious showman talent of his own experiences wild success but also a difficult upbringing, love, heartbreak, scandal and intrigue at a tender age.

Much like The Beatles would 50 years later, Chaplin took America by storm. En route aboard ship across the Atlantic, Chaplin declared brashly: "America, I am coming to conquer you!" His most memorable character in his films: “The Tramp.” Indeed, in hindsight, Chaplin’s “artistry transcends the cinema and spans world-historical dimensions,” says film critic Richard Brody.

Also known widely as “The Little Tramp” (likely because of Chaplin's diminutive stature), the character is undoubtedly the most recognized icon of the silent film era: the man with the toothbrush mustache, bowler hat, bamboo cane and funny walk. His son Charles Jr. noted later that The Tramp “was really (his) alter ego, the little boy who never grew up: ragged cold and hungry but still thumbing his nose at the world.”

As The Tramp, Chaplin became an instant celebrity worldwide, and along with the fame and fortune, his artistry blossomed.

He became fabulously wealthy, and made his wealth a tool of his art. Chaplin founded his own studio so he could be free to develop story lines on his own timetable. Indeed, Chaplin was the forerunner to movie giants like George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg.

Chaplin founded United Artists -- along with his friends Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford and D.W. Griffith --  a revolutionary film distribution company enabling the four partners, all creative artists, to personally fund their pictures with complete control. As a socialite, Chaplin was without peer; he savored his time with his friends among the rich and famous and was indeed the life of the party.

As with many identified as “genius,” Chaplin had a dark side: marriages with young women under the age of consent, along with his efforts to prevent scandal and avoid prosecution, and his private life became fodder for the press. His outspoken political sympathies attracted the attention of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Despite satirizing Adolf Hitler in “The Great Dictator” and attacking facism, Chaplin ran afoul of the J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI, and the House Un-American Activities Committee. After premiering “Limelight,” his new movie, in London, the U.S. Attorney General revoked his re-entry permit to the United States.

In 1952, rather than submit to a tribunal, he severed his ties to the U.S. and settled in Switzerland at Manoir de Ban (above), a 35-acre estate overlooking Lake Geneva in Corsier-sur-Vevey. The home now serves as part of the “Chaplin’s World” museum complex, which opened in 2016 after 15 years in development.

The tour started with a reel of his work in a theatre, followed by a walk through of studio sets featuring wax figures of Chaplin’s movies and characters with insights into the man, his life, his influences and life story. The sets, including lighting, staging and audiovisual technology draws you into Charlie’s universe: definitely must-see.

His home, cleverly staged with comic scenarios featuring mannequins of his friends, colleagues and admirers, is part of the tour, along with the stunning grounds along Lake Geneva. He returned to America only once, to receive an honorary Oscar in 1977, but spent his remaining years in Switzerland. I guess the best revenge is to live well.