The ZAZ trio struck gold with their 1980 hit Airplane! (alternatively called Flying High! in some markets including Australia) and set the formula of deadpan delivery, rapid-fire jokes, slapstick sight gags, and genre parody, that would come to define their brand of comedies in coming years.

Top Secret! lampooned the cringe-inducing Elvis Presley movies and the beach party style genre of the 1960s, as well as - somewhat curiously juxtaposed with - Cold War era spy films, with hints of WWII.

Val Kilmer - in his big screen debut - plays American rock star Nick Rivers who travels to East Germany, initially to perform but through his pursuit of love interest Hillary Flammond (played by English actress Lucy Gutteridge), becomes involved in a government resistance movement.

In typical ZAZ style the jokes are numerous and relentless, to the point where you could watch the movie several times and still catch ones you missed in earlier viewings. And they range from absurd visual humour such as the magnifying glass bit [below], through to biting political satire like the line "for as long as a single man is forced to cower under the iron fist of oppression, as long as a child cries out in the night, or an actor can be elected president, we must continue the struggle".

One of the best-known gags comes from the "he's just a little horse" scene, YouTube it if you must but for full impact - leaving you laughing for five minutes - it's best to let it sneak up on you when watching the entire film.

The entire film was shot in the UK, including the beach scenes accompanying the song 'Skeet Surfin' [more on that below] that plays over the opening credits.

In the DVD commentary Abrahams and the Zuckers said a significant amount of effort went into making the British extras at a British beach look like "kids in Malibu".

Even though it was shot during the Northern Hemisphere summer, once you know that it's actually in Cornwall it just looks colder.

The aforementioned 'Skeet Surfin' is one of the cornerstones of Top Secret! a goof on the Surf Music genre - specifically the work of the Beach Boys, featuring a parody medley of several of their songs.

Furthermore, two of the band's members, Brian Wilson and Mike Love, actually receive songwriting credits on the soundtrack. Along with Chuck Berry because one of the songs used, 'Surfin' USA', is set to his 1958 single 'Sweet Little Sixteen'.

And yes, it is Val Kilmer singing, he does all of the songs in the movie. So him appearing in a comedy - after 1985's Real Genius it would be two decades before he dipped his toe into the genre again in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang - isn't the only unexpected part of this role.

Speaking of music, satirist "Weird Al" Yankovic considers Top Secret! his favourite movie.

Despite more than doubling its budget at the box office, making just over $20 million, Top Secret! was considered a flop - especially when Flying High made $130 million.

A number of theories have been floated for why this happened.

One being the lukewarm reception to Flying High II: The Sequel in 1982, although ironically Abrahams and the Zuckers weren't involved with it. However, the similar tone to its predecessor and a number of original cast members reprising their roles meant that ZAZ weren't able to distance themselves from it - despite their names not appearing in the credits.

Another being the combination of genres that Top Secret! parodied - there were Elvis movies AND spy movies AND beach party movies AND World War II movies. Indeed its creators have since conceded that they made it a bit convoluted.

Other ZAZ films are a lot clearer in what they're poking fun at and were more timely too. Flying High was based on 70s disaster movies and it was made in 1980 - plus it's actual name Airplane was a direct reference to the Airport franchise, which was still churning out unintentionally funny rubbish at the time. Hot Shots! was released in 1991 and clearly took aim at Top Gun (1986), with Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993) spoofing the Rambo series the third installment of which came out in 1988.

Top Secret! was based on stuff from the 60s and earlier. And even though one could argue that this criticism could be levelled at the Naked Gun movies, Leslie Nielsen's Lieutenant Frank Drebin is such a comedic tour de force that it doesn't matter. Unfortunately Top Secret! doesn't have such a character.

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In the last 35 years Top Secret! has attained cult movie status, with fans of Flying High and the Naked Gun seeking it out. And for good reason, because if you like those or anything of that ilk (the work of Mel Brooks for instance), then there's plenty to enjoy here.

It's also something of a rarity in the ZAZ catalogue as well, given that only this movie, Flying High and 1986's Ruthless People, are co-directed by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker as a trio. Their later films would have one directing with one/both of the others only producing and/or writing.

The humour in Top Secret! is clever in parts and dumb in others, it's quotable and it's slapstick. Leslie Nielsen may not be here but the ZAZ DNA is and if you've ever laughed at anything the team has done, then at least one joke in this will get you - hell, they make enough of them.