Photoplay (Jan - Jun 1922)

Charlie Abroad Decorated by the French Government — The Hero of the Hour in Paris and Berlin His Face Served as a Passport — Met Pola Negri and Praises Her Beauty — Now Back in California Hard at Work By CHARLES CHAPLIN P ARIS! Yes, I am here again at last after ten years away. When I arrived the newspaper men asked me right off I replied that I had never seen so how I liked Paris, many Frenchmen. I am a bit disappointed. My little cafe is gone. When I used to be at the Folies Bergere, there was this little place around the corner from the theater. Here I would take coffee after the performance. It is like losing an old friend — to come here and find it gone. But there have been compensations. The polite acclaims of the French, their quiet but sincere "Vive Chariot!" lam not pursued by the crowds as in England. It is a contrast. I came to Paris from London by boat. I did not return by boat, I assure you! Why should one go through the unpleasantness of a channel crossing when one can fly? I am absolutely incognito most of the time. I wish I could be many places at once. The "Spiritual Mayor" of Montmartre extended an invitation to visit him and his comrades. I was compelled to refuse. But I spent some time with my good friend Dudley Field Malone, Waldo Francis and Georges Carpentier. I went to Versailles with Georges and Sir Philip Sassoon. And I was honored by the decoration of the Beaux Arts in Paris. I appeared also at the first public performance in France of my film, "The Kid." Outside of that, I have been resting. Then I flew over to England to spend several days at Sir Phillip's estate at Luympe and also enjoyed a week-end with H. G. Wells. He is a man I have always wanted to meet. His "Outline of History" and his other great books have interested me tremendously. Wells and I, at his country home, spent a splendid few days together. He is a great man indeed. His latest work, "The History of Mr. Polly," is one of his best. Someday I am going to do it in pictures. 20 In England I was to have met the Prime Minister, Mr. Lloyd George, but was delayed by fog at the channel and it was my misfortune. I am told that he sent for some of my films while he was in Scotland, recuperating. That is most gratifying. James -Barrie, Thomas Burke, Rebecca West and E. V. Lucas were others of the notables with whom I became acquainted while in London. I am impressed with the celebrities I have met. They are, most of them, supremely simple. No matter what great works of art they may have produced, they are as sincerely charming as if they had never written a book, painted a picture, performed a great play, or executed an exquisite bit of statesmanship. In my hotel in Paris, I was interviewed by a great many writers. One of the most interesting of them was Cami, very well known in France, and a contributor to America's "Vanity Fair." I met him in the foyer. We began to talk. People came and crowded about us. So I took his arm — Cami's — and steered him into the elevator. We rode up and down, up and down, until we had finished our conversation. The hotel staff seemed a bit astonished when one evening at the bar I called for a glass of Vittel water. While I was talking to the newspaper people, a startled and redheaded young man burst in. I had never seen him before in my life. Evidently he had seen me. He rushed up, grasped both my hands, pumped them, and rattled off in broken English, as if he had memorized it, "My dear Chariot — is it really you? I am so glad to see you. We have been waiting so long for you. Now I do hope you will like Paris. Paris is such a wonderful city, you know. And, dear Charlie, you must visit our shows. But you look so funny. Chariot. Where is your mustache? And where is your hat? And how long are you going to stay in Paris? And where do you go now, my dear Charles? You must be so tired." Pola Negri and Charlie Chaplin in Berlin. Her brilliant acting and beauty established her name in America over night