I have seen this film a few times on TCM, but it is now part of the Garbo signature DVD collection and is double-billed with the English version and it's an interesting option to view them back to back.
The biggest advantage that the English language version has, is the wonderful Marie Dressler as Martha. Salka Viertel just doesn't have the warmth that makes the characterization so effective. Martha has more poignancy in English because of Dressler. The rest of the German actors seems actually better cast than the other film. Theo Shall makes a much better romantic choice for Garbo than Charles Bickford.
Surprisingly-considering her coterie of German friends in Hollywood-Garbo herself is also verbally more expressive in the English version than in German. Her emphasis on German syllables is off, but she is perfectly understandable nonetheless. This euro-audience oriented film also makes an odd choice in over-stating her first costume and telegraphing the character's problem far less subtly than the American version.
In general, it may not be the superior version, after all. But it is a really good one.
The biggest advantage that the English language version has, is the wonderful Marie Dressler as Martha. Salka Viertel just doesn't have the warmth that makes the characterization so effective. Martha has more poignancy in English because of Dressler. The rest of the German actors seems actually better cast than the other film. Theo Shall makes a much better romantic choice for Garbo than Charles Bickford.
Surprisingly-considering her coterie of German friends in Hollywood-Garbo herself is also verbally more expressive in the English version than in German. Her emphasis on German syllables is off, but she is perfectly understandable nonetheless. This euro-audience oriented film also makes an odd choice in over-stating her first costume and telegraphing the character's problem far less subtly than the American version.
In general, it may not be the superior version, after all. But it is a really good one.