I’m pretty well-versed in pre-code fare (heck, I’ve seen every Wheeler and Woolsey movie, for example... and a film of theirs like “So This is Africa” is indeed brimming with innuendos and endless other cultural references... very akin to the modern spoof genre).
I’m getting at something beyond that, in terms of all dialogue, spread throughout every genre. It might even be related to the aspect of over-direction in films, in which so many filmmaking techniques are overused, bringing a self-conscious attention to themselves.
The USC film school mentality (have a technique, make sure everybody knows it) has certainly done some bad stuff. So many movies now you can tell exactly who directed in the first 30 seconds of trailer. Interesting you bring that up today, last night I watched an interview with Robert Wise, and he mentioned how he was often criticized for not having a discernible style and his answer was “I use the style that’s correct for the movie”, which is why he directed some of almost everybody’s favorite movies and nobody knows it.