And as Skal (and others) has pointed out, Browning is quoted as complaining bitterly about how Universal ruined his film in the final edit. I've agreed that there's an amount of speculation here, but the facts are pretty clear:

1. The re-cut eliminates the continuity problems we've discussed in this thread.
2. The re-cut follows the script.
3. The re-cut follows the continuity of the Spanish version.
4. Universal made a final edit just prior to release, reportedly at the order of Carl Sr.
5. Browning complained that the final edit ruined his film.

It's not much of a leap to conclude that the re-cut is closer to Browning's original film than the release version.