Pepe le Moko, Algiers or Casbah?

Perhaps uniquely three movie versions of the same story were made within eleven years. Which though was the best? Or were there outstanding individuals in each production? Why wasnt Pepe le Moko played by a star in "Casbah" - surely his was the central role?

I think the original 1937 Jean Gabin version was the best because it had the most interesting and charismatic Pepe. The setting is mainly to provide an exotic - to European eyes at least - backdrop for the quick-witted but very human outlaw. It could equally have been set in the Far East but the North African Casbah provided an intriguing believable lair which the astute hero/villain made into his fortress. Gabin's Pepe was humorous and believably both attracted, and attractive, to women and probably embodied those characteristics many French men and women of the time would have admired and emulated. Did the spirit of his character act as a kind of model for the French Resistance just three years later? But Boyer was always Boyer - rather stiff and formal - haughty and aristocratic even when playing against the unbelievably beautiful Ingrid Bergman in "Gaslight".