was it based on any novel?
No
Sherlock Holmes Baffled
The plot of "Sherlock Holmes Baffled" is unrelated to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's canonical Sherlock Holmes stories; it is likely that the character's name was used purely for its familiarity with the public. 
what is sherlock holmes baffled? A very short American silent film created in 1900 when was it released? 1900 who did the title role in it? UNANSWERABLE
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Sherlock Holmes Baffled [SEP] Analysis
The plot of "Sherlock Holmes Baffled" is unrelated to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's canonical Sherlock Holmes stories; it is likely that the character's name was used purely for its familiarity with the public. Shot from a single point of view on a stage set, the intention of "Sherlock Holmes Baffled" was probably to act as a showcase for basic film trickery and film editing effects, particularly the stop trick first developed four years earlier in 1896 by French director Georges Méliès. "Sherlock Holmes Baffled" marks the first in an observable trend of early film-makers to show the character as a figure of fun; in this case the somewhat louchely dressed Holmes is left "baffled" by a burglar, in contrast with the detective prowess displayed by his literary namesake.