[2] With regard to screen productions, he is best remembered for directing the 1916 crime drama Sherlock Holmes starring William Gillette, an actor who since 1899 had distinguished himself on the Broadway stage and at other prominent theatrical venues with his numerous, "definitive" portrayals of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's great fictional detective.

[9] Six months later, in the April 14, 1900 issue of The San Francisco Dramatic Review, a special correspondent for trade paper describes a production of Quo Vadis conducted by the Lyceum Stock Company in Denver, Colorado.

During 1903–1904, he was advertised as one of the "prominent" support players in a "farewell revival" of The Two Orphans starring the legendary actress Kate Claxton, who since the 1870s had made a career of performing as "Louise" in the well-known French play.

He also performed regularly on Broadway, appearing there in a variety of Shakespearean and contemporary-based plays such as King Henry V (1900), Beaucaire (1902), A Man's World (1910), and His Wife by His Side (1912)[13] Over that span of time, however, he began to combine more and more his duties as an actor with directing stage productions and later with managing stock companies himself.

"[16]During the latter half of 1915, Berthelet began to transition professionally, moving from his career as a stage actor and as a director and manager of stock companies to working in the rapidly expanding motion picture industry.

That melodrama starred John Lorenz and presented the story of a violinist who was born blind but ultimately found success musically and romantically after overcoming a series of physical and emotional struggles.

Following the positive film-industry and public reactions to Berthelet’s first two projects, Essanay assigned him to direct longer, more elaborate "photoplays" such as The Misleading Lady (1916), The Primitive Strain (1916), Sherlock Holmes (1916), and Vultures of Society (1916).

In addition to directing a acclaimed expert in the role of Holmes, Berthelet had to film the seven-reel, 116-minute motion picture in Chicago and select exterior locations in that city to represent believably areas of London between the late Victorian and Edwardian eras.

[20] The reviewer for Motography, Genevieve Harris, in her June 10, 1916 examination of Sherlock Holmes describes the film overall as "well produced"[g] but questions the decision to extend the picture's length to nearly two hours, a running time that she contends detrimentally affects the story's pacing and clarity in some parts:Arthur Berthelet directed this screen version and has succeeded in presenting its thrills effectively.

The New York Clipper, which in 1916 was promoted as "The Oldest Theatrical Journal in America", applauded Berthelet's work as both a critical and commercial achievement:While seven reels seem a trifle lengthy, still the story, as unfolded, never wearies.

[25] Her book, simply titled The Story of Mary MacLane, recounts with, as one period publication described it, "astonishingly frank truths about herself" and six love affairs she had with men of different ages, marital circumstances, and from different educational, economic, and social backgrounds.

From the outset of developing Men Who Have Made Love to Me, Berthelet sought to elevate public perceptions of the film's subject matter by establishing unusually high production values for the picture.

[28]By 1940, Berthelet continued to work as a freelance dialogue director, hired under contract by various film studios to assist in screening and training new actors and refining the on-camera speaking style and dialects of rising stars.

Twenty months after the release of the comedy The Tender Years in January 1948, Berthelet died while being treated for ongoing circulatory problems at Casa Del Mar Sanitarium near Vista, California, located approximately 100 miles southeast of Hollywood.