This version of Beau Geste (BG) provides us with an interesting opportunity to answer that question. As most of us already know, Hollywood has been recycling its movies into newer editions almost from its very beginning. Perhaps the best way to illustrate this point is to note that Cecil B. DeMille's The Squaw Man (1914) is generally considered to be Hollywood's first feature length narrative film. Yet in 1918 (four years after the release of the first DeMille version), a second TSM was produced with Elliott Dexter and Ann Little assuming the roles played in the original by Dustin Farnum and Red Wing. Finally, a third TSM was made in 1931 (again by DeMille) with Warner Baxter and Lupe Velez that took advantage of the then emerging use of sound. DeMille may have wanted to remake TSM based upon his own reconsideration of the original story after a number of years-----much like what happened to Alfred Hitchcock with The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934 v. 1956 versions) and Frank Capra with Lady For a Day (1933 v. 1961 version retitled Pocketful of Miracles).
Generally, when an original film is remade, it incorporates some fresh ideas contributed by those responsible for the newer edition. That is certainly true of the 1939 version of BG. However, in more recent years we have seen the emergence of actual shot-for-shot copies of original movies whose only apparent reason for creation was to present the first version in color rather than black and white. See e.g. The Prisoner of Zenda (1937 v. 1952 versions) and Psycho (1960 v. 1998 versions).
William Wellman's 1939 take on the original presentation of BG follows it rather closely. But it is not a cut and paste copy of the original like the cited later editions of The Prisoner of Zenda and Psycho. Rather, it involves Wellman's own thoughtful reconsideration of the story with some changes in the narrative and pacing. There are critics who believe that Wellman's version is the more exciting and better acted, but in this case that tends to be a somewhat subjective comment which is difficult to quantify. It is much easier to make such a judgment when the versions are more obviously different. See e.g. The Maltese Falcon (1931 v. 1941 versions) and One Sunday Afternoon (1933 v. 1941 version retitled The Strawberry Blond).
In the end, the viewer is left with two splendid versions of BG to compare with each other (two other later remakes of BG are inferior and therefore not being further considered here). The original silent edition is important because it was the first one made, and it also represented an important milestone in the development of Ronald Colman's film career. The Wellman version is equally significant, because its use of sound substantially strengthened the narrative power of the story and the photography represented an improvement over that used in the original edition. A Hobson's Choice!
Generally, when an original film is remade, it incorporates some fresh ideas contributed by those responsible for the newer edition. That is certainly true of the 1939 version of BG. However, in more recent years we have seen the emergence of actual shot-for-shot copies of original movies whose only apparent reason for creation was to present the first version in color rather than black and white. See e.g. The Prisoner of Zenda (1937 v. 1952 versions) and Psycho (1960 v. 1998 versions).
William Wellman's 1939 take on the original presentation of BG follows it rather closely. But it is not a cut and paste copy of the original like the cited later editions of The Prisoner of Zenda and Psycho. Rather, it involves Wellman's own thoughtful reconsideration of the story with some changes in the narrative and pacing. There are critics who believe that Wellman's version is the more exciting and better acted, but in this case that tends to be a somewhat subjective comment which is difficult to quantify. It is much easier to make such a judgment when the versions are more obviously different. See e.g. The Maltese Falcon (1931 v. 1941 versions) and One Sunday Afternoon (1933 v. 1941 version retitled The Strawberry Blond).
In the end, the viewer is left with two splendid versions of BG to compare with each other (two other later remakes of BG are inferior and therefore not being further considered here). The original silent edition is important because it was the first one made, and it also represented an important milestone in the development of Ronald Colman's film career. The Wellman version is equally significant, because its use of sound substantially strengthened the narrative power of the story and the photography represented an improvement over that used in the original edition. A Hobson's Choice!