In the 80s, away from endless slasher movies, horror found a new lease of life, as directors broke the rules and added style to genre traditions.

Ian Nathan continues his exploration of cinema with a look at comedy, parody and satire, beginning with the early days of on-screen comedy with the silent actors who took vaudeville slapstick to the next level, including Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin. As silent film gave way to talkies, films found new ways to keep the laughs coming, with stars like Groucho Marx bringing his famous one-liners to the screen in Duck Soup, and Peter Sellers excelling in satire in titles like I'm All Right, Jack and Two Way Stretch.