The Adventure of the Speckled Band the snake wrong, a theory that the swamp adder was an artificial hybrid between the Mexican Gila monster ("Heloderma suspectum") and "Naja naja". His speculation suggests that Doyle might have hidden a double-meaning in Holmes' words. What Holmes said, reported by Watson, was "It is a swamp adder, the deadliest snake in India"; but Klauber suggested what Holmes really said was "It is a "samp-aderm", the deadliest skink in India." "Samp-aderm" can be translated "snake-Gila-monster": "Samp" is Hindi for snake, and the suffix "aderm" is derived from "heloderm", the common or vernacular name of the Gila monster generally used by
The Speckled Band (1931 film) The Speckled Band (1931 film) The Speckled Band is a 1931 British film directed by Jack Raymond and an adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's original story "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" and the play he adapted from it, "The Speckled Band". The film features Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson investigating the fears of a young woman and the suspicious death of her sister. The film begins on the Rylott estate with gypsies camping on the grounds. Inside the mansion, Violet Stonor screams in her bedroom and then collapses in the hallway. She is discovered by her sister, Helen