Griggs won an Oscar for George Stevens' classically understated western "Shane" (1953), and went on to shoot more than a dozen high-budget films in that decade. "Elephant Walk" (1954) had both lush scenery and Elizabeth Taylor to highlight. Grigg's first musical was the Bing Crosby/Fred Astaire starrer "White Christmas" (1954). "The Bridges at Toko-Ri" (1955) was a sprawling war film. One of Grigg's most challenging assignments was "The Ten Commandments (1956). He was selected because he was the most experienced director of VistaVision photography at Paramount. Director Cecil B DeMille was exacting and unforgiving in his requirements, and this was certainly the largest, most expensive biblical epic of the decade. For his efforts, Griggs won the second of his four Oscar nominations.

Griggs worked steadily through the 1960s, on such ventures as the 1962 Elvis Presley comedy "Girls! Girls! Girls!", Otto Preminger's "In Harm's Way" and Stevens' biblical epic "The Greatest Story Ever Told" (both 1965; Griggs earned Oscar nominations for both features). He reteamed with Preminger for the Southern drama "Hurry, Sundown" (1967) and he was second unit photographer for Joshua Logan's musical "Paint Your Wagon" (1969). The remainder of his films--most for Paramount, some on loan-out--were largely forgettable fare such as "The Jayhawkers" (1959), "Visit to a Small Planet" (1960), "Papa's Delicate Condition" (1963), "Night of the Grizzly" (1966) and "... tick ... tick ... tick" (1970). Griggs' swan song was the appalling Bette Davis/Ernest Borgnine comedy "Bunny O'Hare" (1971).