These articles in the Dictionary of Film Studies provide a brief introduction to cinematic developments from the years between 1940 and 1960:
Wide Screen Museum's site on Cinemascope
"The English have Shakespeare, the French have Molière, the Russians have Chekhov, the Argentines have Borges, but the Western is ours." – Robert Duvall
The following articles in Dictionary of Film Studies provide an introduction to the western genre of cinema:
John Ford directed 17 westerns between 1939 (Stagecoach) and 1964 (Cheynne Autumn). A large majority of them are on many top 50 list of Westerns.
Budd Boetticher was also a great Director of Westerns:
Howard Hughes directed The Outlaw (1943) which made Jane Russell a star.
The following articles in Dictionary of Film Studies provide an introduction to the musical genre in the history of film:
The American Film Institute's Top 25 Movie Musicals:
A Playlist of some of the best clips from MGM Musicals. If you click on "Playlist" you can scroll through the clips. The first two are introductions with the actual clips beginning with number 3:
Show Boat (1951) is one of the American Film Institute's top 25 Musicals of all time:
The Girl Can't Help It (1956) is rated in the top 10 by several lists:
The following are articles in Dictionary of Film Studies related to the topic of cinematic special effects:
Articles in Dictionary of Film Studies:
The Influence of Classic Cinematography Techniques on the Stephen Spielberg's Storytelling:
Understanding the Camera as a Tool in Movie Making