A vintage movie poster titled "Are Parents People?" featuring a couple in a warm embrace, surrounded by colourful, abstract shapes.

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

classified PG

part of Slapstick Festival 2026

Film

Wed 4 Feb 2026 10:00

Director
Malcolm St. Clair
Details
73 mins, 1925, USA

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.

Introduced by film historian and writer Andrew Kelly who will explore 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.


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