[1] In 1909, Conan Doyle had leased the Adelphi Theatre at his own expense for a production of a boxing drama[1] entitled The House of Temperley which was an adaptation of his novel Rodney Stone.
[5][6] Conan Doyle hired an actor with a great deal of experience as Sherlock Holmes; H. A. Saintsbury had toured the Gillette play[7] and was on the verge of his 1,000th performance in the role.
"Lyn Harding, as the half-epileptic and wholly formidable Doctor Grimesby Rylott, was most masterful, while Saintsbury as Sherlock Holmes was also very good.
The real fault of the play was that in trying to give Holmes a worthy antagonist I overdid it and produced a more interesting personality in the villain.
[1] [6]A British tour followed in the Autumn of 1911 but the only actor from the original company to land a role was A. Corney Grain, now promoted from James B. Montague to play Holmes himself.
[11] In 1914, the Chicago, Illinois production cast H. Cooper Cliffe in the role of Holmes with Harding continuing as Rylott.
[11] The play was adapted to film in 1931 as The Speckled Band with Lyn Harding repeating his role as Dr. Grimesby Rylott and starring Raymond Massey as Sherlock Holmes.