His works were influential in the development of the academic study of film history, including the application of the Chicago School of literary criticism to film analysis, and several of his books, including A Short History of the Movies and Film Theory and Criticism, have been widely incorporated into university film studies programs.
Karya-karyanya berpengaruh dalam pengembangan studi akademik sejarah film, termasuk aplikasi sekolah kritikan kesusastraan Chicago untuk analisis film, dan beberapa bukunya, termasuk A Short History of the Movies dan Film Theory and Criticism, banyak dimasukkan dalam program-program studi film universitas.