Crossword Genius

As a film it was unspeakably funny (6,6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

silent comedy

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'it was unspeakably funny' is the definition.
I don't know anything about this answer so I cannot judge whether it can be defined by this definition.

'as a film' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'film' could be 'silent' (silent movie is a kind of movie) and 'silent' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'comedy' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.
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