[1] The film features Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson investigating the fears of a young woman and the suspicious death of her sister.

Holmes files it away in his system—he operates a modern office with female secretaries and a voice recording device.

Her sister Violet had been engaged to be married before she dies, and Helen remembers hearing mysterious music that night.

Together they investigate Dr. Rylott's room and discover several clues, such as a bowl of milk, a dog whip, and a mirror.

When Rylott returns, Holmes and Watson temporarily leave Helen at the house but plan to sneak into the room later to investigate.

Holmes, Watson, and Helen enter his room and discover Rylott dead from a snake bite.

Violet's last words about a "speckled band" were in fact describing "a swamp adder, the deadliest snake in India".

Some characters appeared in the play and film who were not in the original story such as Mrs. Staunton the housekeeper, Rodgers the butler, and the Indian servant Ali.

It was produced by Herbert Wilcox and was not part of the Sherlock Holmes series made by Twickenham Studios featuring Arthur Wontner in the title role.

"[3] Mordaunt Hall of The New York Times disagreed saying "Mr. Massey's performance is pleasing, intelligent and restrained" and said of the film "The Speckled Band succeeds in being moderately interesting.