Chaplin at a train stop in Kansas City, January 1931

Charlie was en route to New York for the premiere of City Lights and then to England to begin his world tour.

1966 World Cup

One hot summer's night, England played West Germany in the World Cup Final. Oona, Charlie, and I decided to take a ride around London. We listened to the match on my car radio. After playing overtime, England put in the winning goal. There was pandemonium in the streets. That evening, all London ran wild. 

There, in my car, the three of us were weeping with joy. England victorious over Germany. It seemed like the end of the Second World War! For Charlie, football was the working man's sport; he was always thrilled by the enormous crowds that went to soccer games. "There's no audience like them in the world," he said. He loved the way they sang, cheered, and waved their banners. We never forgot the thrill of that evening--July 30th, 1966--when England won the coveted Cup! --Jerry Epstein, Remembering Charlie, 1989

Welcome to summer

Charlie has the right idea.

Charlie by his swimming pool on Summit Drive, c. 1930

 A slightly different pose here.

Catalina Island, c. 1930s

Autographed photo of Chaplin with composer Arnold Schoenberg, c.1935

Photo by Max Munn Autrey.

Click here to read David Raksin's description of the meeting between Chaplin and Schoenberg which was evidently a bit awkward.

Charlie at home, c. mid-1930s

Chaplin aboard the SS President Coolidge, 1936

Charlie and Paulette in San Francisco, 1936

Jean Cocteau's face is cut off behind Paulette.

Charlie by the pool of his home in Beverly Hills, c. 1930

Relaxing on the Panacea, 1933

Charlie greets the press & newsreel cameras aboard the Mauretania in Plymouth, England, February 19th, 1931

After Chaplin finished City Lights, he decided to take a brief European vacation to promote the film. He had not set foot in England, his native country, in nearly ten years. Although, he had initially planned to be abroad for only a month or so, he ended up staying for 18 months--traveling to all corners of the world. Watch Charlie nervously pose for the newsreel cameras here.

One year ago today my World Tour Revisited series officially began. It has been quite a learning experience for me and I have enjoyed the research (which I love anyway). This period of Charlie's life has always fascinated me. I will be sad when the series ends in June.

With Paulette at a tennis match, 1933

Chaplin at Lake Arrowhead, CA, 1934

The original captions say he is looking over his notes for Modern Times.

Charlie and Paulette at the Pacific Southwest Tennis Tournament in Los Angeles, September 1934

Love Charlie's scarf and Paulette's lace-up dress.

C & P chat with Rupert Hughes and his wife.

Autographed photo, 1927

c. 1932

Charlie serenades Paulette with an accordion on the Panacea, c. 1933

Charlie bought his first accordion (perhaps the same one he is playing here) during his romance with Georgia Hale a few years before. According to her, they were shopping for a gift for her sister's wedding when Charlie spotted the instrument and couldn't resist buying it. After they returned to her house, he strolled around trying to play it while she got dressed for the evening. By the time she was ready, he was playing the instrument "like a trouper." (Georgia Hale, Charlie Chaplin: Intimate Close-ups)

Charlie & Paulette, 1938 1936

I have always been under the assumption that the following photos of Charlie & Paulette were taken at the Del Monte Resort in Pebble Beach during the summer of 1938, after Paulette had showed up out of the blue to reconcile with Charlie, who had been staying there in a rented house since February (read more about this story here).

Many contemporary newspaper articles, such as the one below, used the photos to show the newly reconciled couple hanging out at the resort: 

San Jose News, July 12th, 1938

Well, lo and behold, I have been wrong. Recently, I came across the photo of Charlie lighting up in a June 1936 issue of the London newspaper, The Daily Mail. The caption states that Charlie and Paulette had just returned from their trip to the Far East:

Daily Mail, June 17th, 1936

There's no way a photo taken in 1938 could show up in a newspaper in 1936, so it must have been taken in 1936. My mind immediately went to the photos of Charlie and Paulette aboard the SS Coolidge after they arrived in San Francisco on June 4th, 1936 (below). They are wearing the same clothing as the supposed "1938" photos (except Paulette is wearing a skirt & heels) & Paulette's hair is the same as well.

Jean Cocteau is posing with the couple on the right. 

The only conclusion I can draw is that the two must driven to the Del Monte shortly after their arrival in San Francisco (it's only a couple of hours away) & that's why these photos were used two years later to accompany articles about their reconciliation in Pebble Beach. At the time, who would have known that they were not taken the same year?

Charlie, Paulette, & Olympic swimmer, Duke Kahanamoku, Hawaii, 1936

Chicago Tribune, June 7, 1936