In the Apple TV+ series “Sugar,” Colin Farrell plays a Los Angeles detective named John Sugar who happens to be a big fan of classic movies and who is working a case about the missing granddaughter of a legendary movie producer (James Cromwell).
The character frequently references movies like “The Big Heat” — his handler Ruby (Kirby) gets him the gun Glenn Ford used in the 1950s noir — as well as several Humphrey Bogart films.
We then see clips from each movie, which film noir fans might recognize … or want to put on their Letterboxd Watchlist.
Here are all the movies referenced in the order they appear in each episode. The first seven episodes are now streaming on Apple TV+, with the finale set to air on Friday, May 17.
“Sugar” stars Colin Farrell, James Cromwell, Kirby, Amy Ryan, Anna Gunn and Dennis Boutsikaris, with Sydney Chandler as the missing movie heiress, Olivia Siegel.
Episode 1: “Olivia”
“Kiss Me Deadly” (1955), film noir starring Ralph Meeker as detective Mike Hammer, directed by Robert Aldrich
“The Big Heat” (1953), film noir starring Glenn Ford and Gloria Grahame, directed by Fritz Lang
“Johnny Guitar” (1954), western starring Joan Crawford and Sterling Hayden, directed by Nicholas Ray
“The Strange Love of Martha Ivers” (1946), film noir starring Barbara Stanwyck and Kirk Douglas, directed by Lewis Milestone
Episode 2: “These People, These Places”
“Dead Reckoning” (1947), film noir starring Humphrey Bogart and Lizabeth Scott, directed by John Cromwell
“In a Lonely Place” (1950), film noir starring Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Grahame, directed by Nicholas Ray
“Knock on Any Door” (1949), film noir starring Humphrey Bogart and John Derek, directed by Nicholas Ray
“Sunset Blvd.” (1950), film noir starring Gloria Swanson and William Holden, directed by Billy Wilder
“Minnie and Moskowitz” (1971), comedy/drama starring Gena Rowlands and Seymour Cassel, directed by John Cassavetes
Episode 3: “Shibuya Crossing”
“The Killers” (1946), film noir starring Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner, directed by Robert Siodmak
“Double Indemnity” (1944), film noir starring Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray and Edward G. Robinson, directed by Billy Wilder
Episode 4: “Starry Eyed”
“The Thing” (1982), horror movie starring Kurt Russell and Keith David, directed by John Carpenter
“The Third Man” (1949), film noir starring Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles, directed by Carol Reed
Episode 5: “Boy in the Corner”
“The Night of the Hunter” (1955), film noir starring Robert Mitchum, directed by Charles Laughton
“Touch of Evil” (1958), film noir starring Charlton Heston, Orson Welles and Janet Leigh, directed by Welles
Episode 6: “Go Home”
“The Night of the Hunter” (1955), film noir starring Robert Mitchum, directed by Charles Laughton
“Dead Reckoning” (1947), film noir starring Humphrey Bogart and Lizabeth Scott, directed by John Cromwell
Episode 7: “The Friends You Keep”
“Kiss Me Deadly” (1955), film noir starring Ralph Meeker and Cloris Leachman, directed by Robert Aldrich
“The Chase” (1946), film noir starring Robert Cummings, Peter Lorre, Michele Morgan and Steve Cochrane, directed by Arthur Ripley
“The Sweet Smell of Success” (1957), film noir starring Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis, directed by Alexander Mackendrick
Episode 8: “Farewell”
“Vertigo” (1958), film noir starring James Stewart and Kim Novak, directed by Alfred Hitchcock
“The Lady from Shanghai” (1947), film noir starring Rita Hayworth and Orson Welles, directed by Orson Welles
“Sugar” airs Fridays on Apple TV+.
