The Asphalt Jungle

The Asphalt Jungle is a 1950 heist film directed by John Huston and starring Sterling Hayden, James Whitmore, Sam Jaffe (always worth watching), and Marilyn Monroe (in one of her earliest roles). It is considered one of the most influential films in the genre. It's listed in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. I watched it on HBO Max.

trailer:

The Guardian says,

The Asphalt Jungle is the greatest, most influential heist movie, and has a superb performance from Sam Jaffe as the middle-aged German-born criminal mastermind behind a million-dollar jewel robbery in an unidentified American city. It differs from most caper films in creating a whole world where the carefully delineated crooks are mirror images of the supposedly respectable society they challenge. The film's crucial line is spoken by the suave lawyer (Louis Calhern) who bankrolls the robbery: 'After all, crime is only a left-hand form of human endeavour.'

Film Site has an interesting article and a detailed plot description. Slant Magazine has a positive review. Empire Online gives it 5 out of 5 stars, calls it "a seminal influence on crime pictures to this day, and concludes, "A tight plot that's enriched by wonderfully crafted characters that each have their own key weaknesses." Rotten Tomatoes has a critics consensus score of 97%.