"The abode of stranded souls"

Charlie lunches with friends at the Del Monte Resort in Pebble Beach. Next to Charlie is tennis star Elizabeth Ryan.

In Feb. 1938, Charlie left Hollywood & spent several months living in a rented house in Pebble Beach, CA, a place he called “the abode of stranded souls." The escape was partially due to his strained relationship with Paulette, but also to work on another script—one was the “Stowaway” story which would later become A Countess From Hong Kong and the other was a satire on Hitler (The Great Dictator). He was also seen in the company of other women, including sugar heiress Geraldine Spreckels.

Later that year, fed up with Charlie avoiding her phone calls, Paulette, along with Chaplin's two sons, visited him in Pebble Beach, perhaps, recalled Charlie, Jr., as a "peace offering." At the time, there was still a great deal of speculation about their marital status, so it came as quite a surprise when she entered a golf tournament and made appointments under the name "Mrs. Chaplin." A name she rarely used.
Charlie eventually returned to Hollywood and made The Great Dictator with Paulette as his leading lady, but there was no hope for their relationship. They split, on amicable terms, in 1942.