So You Think You Can't Sleep (1953) User Reviews

Funny old time theater short

[SimonJack · 7/10 · 8 January 2017]

This is a genuine comedy short in the series of Joe McDoakes, made by Warner Brothers. These little human interest shorts ran with feature films in theaters in the 1930s through the 1950s. They now appear as bonus items on DVDs of films.

George O'Hanlon was Joe McDoakes in Warner Brothers shorts. Another popular shorts personality was Robert Benchley, author, actor and humorist. He made a wonderful short for MGM, "How to Sleep" in 1935. It was inspired by a study made for the Simmons Mattress Company by Mellon Institute.

Just imagine the different "remedies" friends have to offer when one says he can't sleep at night. Joe McDoakes tries a bunch of them in this funny, entertaining movie house filler.

Insomniacs everywhere will see a lot of themselves . . .

[oscaralbert · 7/10 · 14 February 2016]

. . . in SO YOU THINK YOU CAN'T SLEEP. Who hasn't super-glued a plug into their dripping water faucet late at night, only to be sued in the morning for water damage by the renters on the 87 floors beneath them? Who hasn't broken five or ten of their spouse's ribs climbing over them multiple times to adjust a window? And who wouldn't switch to a Porn Channel if they counted their 4,010th sheep and realized that they still were awake? Since "Joe McDoakes" is NOT a rich pop singer, he cannot simply go to a celebrity doctor in order to be put to sleep permanently. Obviously, what Joe needs is a night shift job. People who work the night shift generally can snooze as soundly as Dracula--and for as long, if you let them. But Joe's quack doctor prescribes him something referred to as "sleeping pills," designer drugs of the 1950s. (These soon were followed by pills to make you have a baby, pills so you would NOT have a baby, "Baby" aspirin, and Baby Ruth Bars.) Joe finishes this live-action short watching Baby Ruth strut her stuff. Joe's wife Alice decides enough is enough, and slips into a more comfortable bedroom.

Decent Laughs

[Michael_Elliott · 24 February 2009]

So You Think You Can't Sleep (1953)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Another entry in the long-running Joe McDoakes series this time finds our hero unable to sleep no matter what he tries. Joe eventually goes to the doctor to get some sleeping pills but even these end up doing more harm than good when his wife (Phyllis Coates) thinks he has tried to kill himself with them. I'm one who believes this series got a lot better as it went along but this entry comes off rather disappointing. The writing seems to be very weak here as we really don't get that good of a story and instead it just feels like a few small gags thrown in. Most of the gags don't work as they are all rather simple from water dripping to Joe breaking the window allowing light to get in and keep him up. The best sequence is in the doctor's office when the powerful sleeping pills do a number on the doctor himself.

Another lighthearted gem !

[ronnybee2112 · 9/10 · 4 April 2021]

What do I say ? This is yet another good comedy in a great series. Hilarious dialogue,sight-gags galore,all sorts of mirth and bizarre situations make this a worthwhile watch.

The O'Hanlon-Bare Team Really Nails It!

[redryan64 · 10/10 · 22 February 2016]

POSSIBLY ADDING GREAT validity to the old axiom that "Less is More", this short proves to be a real gem and should go to the front of the class for comedies. Everything about it is appealing, rings true and builds on the wake of the previous gag.

BUT LET'S FIRST congratulate Joe & long suffering Wife, Alice (Phyllis Coates) for they have now finally and undoubtedly consummated their marriage of celluloid. After all, up until now (this installment) they had twin beds. But now they share a double.

IT WOULD APPEAR that the reasoning behind the sudden switch and departure from the norm was due to its being more advantageous a prop for staging successful insomniac gags; rather than any reason of marital reasons.

AS FOR THE problem of this unwanted sleep deprivation, as we stated in our summary; Director/Writer Richard L. Bare, Writer/Actor George O'Hanlon and company hit a Grand Slam Homer with their comedic essay on the subject. The rapid fire barrages of the basically true to life gags coupled with the persistence of Joe's desire to rectify each of the succeeding situation not only provided us with a constantly building continuous laugh session but they managed to bring it all to a crescendo by using pacing, timing and gradual progression of their levels.

OH SURE, THERE was the usual obligatory visit to the Doctor's Office (name) and the expected results. But once again these guys were real pros, who knew their character so very well. (after all, they co-created him over a decade prior).

AS DO ALL of the best comedies, this one threw us an unexpected curve ball and left us the very way they greeted us, laughing!

A bit of a letdown.

[planktonrules · 4/10 · 30 October 2017]

In "So You Can't Sleep", Joe McDoakes has gone days without sleeping. So, after you see him go through some sleepless nights, he consults with a quack doctor to finally get some sleep. Naturally, none of the solutions end up working and by the end Joe's given up.

The biggest problem with this film is that for once this McDoakes film isn't funny. None of the funny bits are funny and it was a serious letdown. While it's very watchable (as are all the McDoakes films), it is among the weaker entries in the series and is easy to skip. Plus, the old stock footage used at the end sure looked out of date.