Sherlock Holmes Baffled

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.

Sherlock Holmes Baffled (1900)

*** (out of 4)

This thirty-second film from American Mutoscope and the Biograph Company is the earliest surviving (and perhaps first made) Sherlock Holmes movie. The story is pretty simple as Holmes walks in on a thief and as he goes to grab him he disappears into thin air. Holmes, as the title suggests, is baffled but the thief reappears only to quickly disappear again. At just 30-seconds one shouldn't go into this thing expecting any type of real story and as you can tell by the story what we're basically got is a Georges Melies rip-off but I must admit that I found it entertaining. The actors are unknown I believe but I enjoyed the Holmes here. There's not much of a performance but I thought the actor did a nice job with his short time and the cigar was a nice touch and something that wouldn't be seen in future versions. The magician tricks aren't nearly as good as what you'd see in an actual Melies movie but at the same time they're actually quite a bit better than most rips including some from this very studio. The disappearance trick happens about three times and it's clearly done with the editing but the effect works well enough. While I'm sure many viewers of today would just see this as some sort of generic junk, it's actually pretty interesting in its own right and not to mention the fact that it's probably the first Holmes movie. That there is reason enough to check it out.

This strange film was produced by American Mutoscope circa 1900, but it was not released 'till 1903. It's only a few seconds film about a burglar who is surprised during his task by a very strange Sherlock Holmes. It is silly and very schematic, but funny and interesting anyway for Sherlock Holmes Films aficionados...

After more than 100 years this doesn't hold up anymore. It's black and white, without a sound, and only one minute long. For that time it must have been a success, but today this is just ok.

It's impossible to rate this short curio from early film. At the time, film was just a little novelty item to show people something fun to watch for literal seconds in hand crank machines called Nickelodeons (which actually cost pennies most times until they were later projected on crude screens.) But Sherlock Holmes name was extremely well known at the time, and would guarantee several curious viewers. A simple film trick begun by George Melies in France where things seem to vanish by simply removing them from the camera's eye and resuming shooting. The "actor" playing the world's greatest detective looks the part but, as the title suggests is baffled by the disappearing-re-appearing burglar who loots the single room. Stationary cameras were common in those days before film found its more inventive directors and cinematographers, so again, there is really no way to rate these type films. They did what they were supposed to do - entertain in a few seconds - so, by those standards, the film does its job. I'm glad to finally own it as an addition to my own Sherlock Holmes collection.