Sound enabled screwball comedy — fast-talking, gender-balanced battle-of-wits films like His Girl Friday and Bringing Up Baby. Howard Hawks directed His Girl Friday with overlapping dialogue at a pace that still feels breathtaking. The humor came from the collision of words, not physical gags.

The verbal tradition then ran through stand-up-influenced comedies (Woody Allen, Richard Pryor), improv-based ensemble films (Christopher Guest), and the Judd Apatow school of improvised emotional honesty. Each treats comedy as a delivery system for truth — the laugh comes from recognition, not surprise.