A humorous look at the problems people have trying to sleep.A humorous look at the problems people have trying to sleep.A humorous look at the problems people have trying to sleep.
- Director
- Writer
- Star
- Won 1 Oscar
- 1 win total
- Director
- Writer
- Robert Benchley(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- Trivia"Bodily Positions in Restful Sleep", the booklet referenced in the short, was published in 1931 by the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research (now part of Carnegie Mellon University) in Pittsburgh, PA. The author was N. M. Johnson, PhD, the Institute's head of the Investigation of Sleep.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Added Attractions: The Hollywood Shorts Story (2002)
Featured review
The type of short film that is not replicated at all in present times
Nick Grinde's How to Sleep is an instructional video on the common practices of winding down, falling asleep, waking up in the middle of the night, and, finally, waking up in the morning to start another day, written with a brilliantly wry comedic focus. Our subject is played by Robert Benchley, as he narrates over an average person's (also played by Benchley) sleep routine, poking fun at the many positions we tend to contort ourselves in while resting, and even mocking the conventions of taking a hot bath with pine fragrance, drinking warm milk, and counting sheep.
During the short, Benchley treads the line of being serious while being playful, creating a short film that merges both approaches into a devilishly fun short. Benchley exerts a great deal of energy, striving to be all that he can be in a short film that demands a lot of energy despite the fact that it's about the process in which one falls asleep. How to Sleep is a short that, when you watch it, you laugh heartily until you recall how there are far too few of these kinds of shorts being replicated in the present.
Starring: Robert Benchley. Directed by: Nick Grinde.
During the short, Benchley treads the line of being serious while being playful, creating a short film that merges both approaches into a devilishly fun short. Benchley exerts a great deal of energy, striving to be all that he can be in a short film that demands a lot of energy despite the fact that it's about the process in which one falls asleep. How to Sleep is a short that, when you watch it, you laugh heartily until you recall how there are far too few of these kinds of shorts being replicated in the present.
Starring: Robert Benchley. Directed by: Nick Grinde.
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- StevePulaski
- Nov 24, 2014
Details
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- MGM Miniatures (1935-1936 Season) #1: How to Sleep
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- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime11 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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