He was in Tonight We Raid Calais (1942) and They Came to Blow Up America (1943) at the same studio, and also Two Tickets to London (1943), Destroyer (1943), Corvette K-225 (1943), The Mad Ghoul (1943), The Impostor (1944), and The Seventh Cross (1944).

[6] His first notable role was in The Killers (1946), which opens with McGraw and fellow heavy William Conrad as the two hitmen who terrorize a small-town diner in their search for double-crossing hoodlum Burt Lancaster.

McGraw's parts remained small in T-Men (1947) for Anthony Mann, The Hunted (1948), Berlin Express (1948), Hazard (1948), and Blood on the Moon (1948).

He had a bigger role in Once More, My Darling (1949), then went back to small parts in Reign of Terror (1949) and Border Incident (1949) for Mann, and The Story of Molly X (1949).

McGraw's other notable roles were as Kirk Douglas's gladiator trainer in the epic Spartacus (1960) and as "The Preacher" in the science fiction film A Boy and His Dog.

[10]: 257  He later had various single-appearance roles in television episodes such as the gruff and menacing Sheriff Gains in "The Gamble," an installment of the NBC western series Bonanza.

[11]: 44  In 1964, he guest starred on Gunsmoke as Albert Calvin, rich farm owner who lets jealousy ruin his life and drive him to murder in "Bently" (S9E28).

"[citation needed] Late in his career, McGraw performed too as a voice actor, providing voice-over narrations for several productions.

[1][12] In recognition of his contributions to the entertainment industry as an actor, McGraw was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, California on February 8, 1960.