The Harold Grieve papers span the years circa 1921-1977. The collection contains miscellaneous material and scrapbooks, concerned mostly with his work as an interior decorator. The miscellaneous material consists of a schedule, costume sketches, and a souvenir program for BEN-HUR; clippings regarding Grieve; Christmas cards from Bing Crosby, Hedda Hopper, Mary Pickford and Buddy Rogers, and Zeppo Marx; plans for the buildings and grounds of Bing Crosby's residence in Hayden Lake, Idaho; and miscellaneous material regarding Karl Struss. There are 21 scrapbooks and one photograph album, each containing interior and exterior photographs of residences designed by Grieve. The homes featured include those of George Burns and Gracie Allen (Beverly Hills), Bing Crosby (Toluca Lake and Rancho Santa Fe), Robert Z. Leonard and Gertrude Olmsted (Malibu, Hollywood, and Leonard's MGM office), Ernst Lubitsch (Bel Air), Hal Roach (Beverly Hills), and Raoul Walsh (Beverly Hills).

Harold Grieve (1901-1993) was born in Los Angeles, attended Hollywood High School, and studied art locally at the J. Francis Smith School of Illustration and Painting. He was at Metro Pictures from 1920-1923, notably as costumer for BEN-HUR (1925). Beginning with DOROTHY VERNON OF HADDON HALL (1924), he was art and technical director at Marshall Neilan studios. Other credits include THE PRISONER OF ZENDA (1922), THE THIEF OF BAGDAD (1924), SO THIS IS PARIS (1926), and LADY WINDERMERE'S FAN (1925). Grieve left film in the late 1920s to pursue a career as an interior decorator, often for clients in the movie industry. Grieve was married to actress Jetta Goudal for more than 50 years.