Adolphe Menjou: Gentleman of the Screen – Are Parents People?

Slapstick 2026 opens in style with a rarely screened gem from the Jazz Age, a sparkling early performance from the ever-suave Adolphe Menjou, the actor later celebrated as Hollywood’s quintessential ‘gentleman of the screen’.

Recently rediscovered, Are Parents People? (1925) is a sophisticated comedy of manners brimming with wit, charm and emotional nuance. Menjou plays the impeccably dressed but somewhat wayward husband of a socialite (Florence Vidor) whose teenage daughter (Betty Bronson) schemes to reunite her estranged parents.

The result is an elegant blend of humour, heart and early screwball comedy. Film historian and writer Andrew Kelly, Festival of Ideas, introduces this screening and explores Menjou’s enduring appeal and influence from these early silent roles to The Front Page and beyond.

With live piano from Daan van den Hurk