As a post-war song-and-dance film of Hong Kong, Portrait of Four Beauties gives a hint to Hu Xinling's anxiety as a filmmaker from the south settling in Hong Kong, and his reflections on his own artistic career. The four actresses who previously appeared in Four Sisters (1942) left Shanghai and were reunited in this film. Qiuyue (Kung Chiu-hsia), Ye Ling (Chen Qi) and Shali (Zhang Fan) are coming to Hong Kong with the Shanghai Song-and-Dance Troupe for a performance. Qiuyue's cousin Dingxiang (Chen Chuan-chuan) longs for a life on stage and joins the troupe after an audition. Naïve and believing in the unrealistic dream of stardom, she is confronted with temptation immediately after instant success. Although this film is not filled with lively song and dance scenes, the special effects cinematography is ingenious. As Kung Chiu-hsia gives a performance of 'I'm Calling You Again' with lyrics by Hu Xinling and a melody composed by Chen Gexin, the lyrics, describing being left with a soulless body after chasing fame and success, is aligned with the cinematography: at the moment when the word 'separated' is sung, the soul is shown to leave the character's body. The scene appears to echo the film's pensive thoughts on the soul of an artist.

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