Arthur projected a friendly, amiable personality on screen, which earned him light-comedy character roles in silent films.

In 1927 he was working at the prestigious Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio, where producer Harry Rapf decided that the 5' 6" Arthur would make a good foil for 6' 3" character actor Karl Dane.

George K. Arthur's British-accented speaking voice did not pose a problem for the new talking pictures, but Karl Dane's Danish accent was considered too thick to be easily understood.

Although Dane & Arthur had made their reputations as silent comedians, they did star in 10 sound comedies, albeit less prestigious short subjects.

After retiring as an actor Arthur remained with MGM, accepting a job in the sales department of the studio's New York film exchange.