Sherlock Holmes Baffled

Sherlock Holmes Baffled is a very short American silent film created in 1900 with cinematography by Arthur Marvin. It is the earliest known film to feature Arthur Conan Doyle's detective character Sherlock Holmes, albeit in a form unlike that of later screen incarnations. The inclusion of the character also makes it the first recorded detective film. In the film, a thief who can appear and disappear at will steals a sack of items from Sherlock Holmes. At each point, Holmes's attempts to thwart the intruder end in failure.

Originally shown in Mutoscope machines in arcades, Sherlock Holmes Baffled has a running time of 30 seconds. Although produced in 1900, it was only registered in 1903, and a copyright notice stating this is seen on some prints. The identities of the actors playing the first screen Holmes and his assailant are not recorded. Assumed to be lost for many years, the film was rediscovered in 1968 as a paper print in the Library of Congress.

Synopsis

Sherlock Holmes entre dans son salon et se rend compte qu'il a été cambriolé mais alors qu'il se confronte au bandit, ce dernier disparaît, à la grande surprise de Sherlock. Holmes tente d'oublier l'incident en allumant un cigare mais le voleur réapparaît et il tente alors de lui reprendre son butin en sortant un pistolet de son peignoir et en tirant sur l'intrus qui se volatilise. Une fois qu'Holmes récupère ce qui lui appartient, le sac disparaît de ses mains pour réaparaître dans les mains du voleur qui disparaît rapidement par une fenêtre. A ce moment précis, le film se termine inopinément sur l'image de Sherlock complètement déconcerté