Chaplin's World: Charlie Chaplin's Genius Finally Appreciated

One day and 127 years after his birthday on April 16, 1889, Chaplin's World, a museum dedicated to the life and genius of Charlie Chaplin opened in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland, on the shores of Lake Geneva, where Chaplin spent the last 25 years of his life. Thanks to the tireless efforts of three of Chaplin's eight children, Michael, Eugene and Victoria Chaplin have created a new museum in their former family home, an 18th-century mansion on a 35-acre estate called the Manoir de Ban.

After Chaplin's death in 1977, the Manoir de Ban had gradually fallen into disrepair and the Chaplin family finally decided to sell the estate to create a museum in Chaplin’s honor. The museum opening took close to 15 years to materialize no thanks to a eternally long wait for building permits and a settlement with a neighbor’s frivolous lawsuit. Some of the locals had feared a Disneyland-style park with traffic congestion that could ruin the surrounding countryside.

The original idea for a state-of-the-art museum dedicated to Charlie Chaplin had originated in 2000 with a Swiss architect, Philippe Meylan and a Quebec museographer, Yves Durand. He took the delays in the authorization and funding of the site with a philosophical air, saying, "It wasn't so dramatic. This waiting allowed us to develop our project even better. I come from North America and I'm a dreamer," he said, according to an article in Swissinfo.com.

Finally, in 2008, the project started to move forward when Luxembourg investment firm, Genii Capital, acquired the estate. They associated with the star museographer François Confino, who had conceived the National Cinema Museum in Torino and the Just for Laughs Museum in Montreal; however, funds were still missing to renovate the Manoir de Ban and build the museum. Finally, when the introduction was made to the Compagnie des Alpes, and with it the Grevin Museum in Paris (the Wax Museum in Paris), the remaining funds were found through private investors like the Nestlé Corporation, also located in Vevey, Jaeger-LeCoultre Watches and Deutz Champagne.

Chaplin’s World is unique in that Charlie Chaplin himself welcomes visitors with his music, words and movies. Charlie Chaplin and The Tramp are the guides for visitors coming to his manor, his landscaped gardens and the replica of his Hollywood Studio. Chaplin will tell his story with his comments on the exhibition panels, with images, multimedia components and stock footage from his films.

Combined with over 30 hand-built wax figurines created by the Grevin Museum in Paris, the Chaplin’s World experience is very interactive. With sets ranging from The Gold Rush, to Modern Times, to The Kid, you can enter the sets and pretend you are in one of Chaplin’s films. Don a Keystone Cop hat, or squeeze behind jailbars or teeter on the set of The Gold Rush for fun memories. Or you can pose with other famous celebrities like Woodie Allen and Michael Jackson, to name a few. With over 10,000 original photos and 600,000 original documents, as well as the scrips of his 82 film credits, Chaplin’s tireless work ethic is evidenced in the museum.

Grab a quick sandwich at The Tramp Cafe downstairs, or move upstairs for a more gourmet lunch. Sip a local Swiss wine like St Saphorin La Redoute Chasselet produced literally down the road from the museum. Starting May 17th, a more elaborate gourmet dinner will be served in the evenings. Don’t forget to buy a bowler’s hat and cane for next Halloween at the gift shop. You can also find DVDs of Chaplin’s films, a director’s clapboard, even a solid gold statuette of Chaplin.

At the Manoir de Ban, Chaplin allows you a glimpse into his personal life, with hand-written letters and mementos throughout the house. A wax figurine of an older Chaplin stands in the foyer of the manor, welcoming visitors to his estate. Images of celebrities abound, as well as short publicity newsflashes showing Chaplin’s popularity as a citizen of Switzerland. In spite of accusations of Chaplin of being a communist during the McCarthyist Era, he was vindicated when he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Oscars, and holds the world record for the longest standing ovation (12 minutes). Charlie Chaplin can finally rest in peace knowing that the full extent of his genius is now immortalized in Chaplin’s World.