Sherlock Holmes Baffled (1900)

Sherlock Holmes enters his drawing room to find it being burgled, but on confronting the villain is surprised when the latter disappears. Holmes initially attempts to ignore the event by ... See full summary »

Director:

Arthur Marvin

Writer:

Arthur Conan Doyle (character)

Star:

Anonymous

Cast

Credited cast:
Anonymous	...	Sherlock Holmes

Storyline

Sherlock Holmes enters his drawing room to find it being burgled, but on confronting the villain is surprised when the latter disappears. Holmes initially attempts to ignore the event by lighting a cigar, but upon the thief's reappearance, Holmes tries to reclaim the sack of stolen goods, drawing a pistol from his dressing gown pocket and firing it at the intruder, who disappears. After Holmes recovers his property, the bag vanishes from his hand into that of the thief, who promptly disappears through a window. At this point the movie ends abruptly with Holmes looking "baffled".

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Genres:

Short | Comedy | Crime | Fantasy | Mystery

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The earliest known film featuring Sherlock Holmes was produced for showing in Mutoscope machines in amusement arcades. Running time: 30 seconds. The production date was 26th April 1900.

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Connections

Remade as Sherlock Holmes Baffled (2004)

User Reviews

Important, yes....but not exactly Sherlock Holmes

I agree with another reviewer who says this film is impossible to rate. Although the film is longer than the 30 seconds stated on IMDb (possibly due, in part, to the speed at which it was played but mine clocked in at about 50 seconds), there really isn't enough film to allow you to rate it. In addition, what you see seems to have NOTHING to do with Sherlock Holmes. In fact, it looks like it was inspired by the films of Georges Méliès--as it uses some of the same tricks this French master director used. Specifically, by stopping and restarting the camera, Arthur Marvin made characters appear and disappear in order to bedevil 'Sherlock Holmes'--who spends most of the film trying to catch this appearing and disappearing character. A strange little curio worth seeing once, but as I said before, it bears very little semblance to the Conan Doyle character.

Details

Country:

USA

Release Date:

May 1900 (USA)

Also Known As:

Озадаченный Шерлок Холмс

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

American Mutoscope & Biograph

Technical Specs

Runtime:

1 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White