Sherlock Holmes Baffled is the first film in which a character identified as the great detective appears. The film was directed and photographed by Arthur Weed Marvin, one of the four founders of the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, who completed more than 418 films between 1897 and 1911.
Originally created in 1900 to be viewed in Mutoscope arcade machines, Sherlock Baffled was deposited for copyright in 1903 in the form of a 35mm paper print which survives as the only remaining original material, hence the apparent rough texture of the cheap paper on which the film was printed. The concept of restoring the film originated with Russell Merritt and the project was completed and dedicated to his memory by the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.
