Pak Yin and Cheung Wood-yau's film personas as the long-suffering housewife and poor husband are so ingrained in popular culture that this saying was used in one newspaper to describe the plight of Hongkongers during the financial tsunami: ‘The city's homes are filled with Pak Yins and the streets with Cheung Wood-yaus.' However, love is both bitter and sweet for this on-screen couple. In real life, Pak and Cheung were great collaborators, co-founding two film companies that nurtured many amazing talents.

Known as one of the Hong Kong film industry's seven princesses, Josephine Siao got her start at Cheung Wood-yau and Pak Yin's Union Film Enterprises. She met Patrick Tse at the age of 19 when she joined Kong Ngee, and Tse would frequently cast Siao in films made by his Tse Brothers Motion Picture Company. Siao's tender tenacity and Tse's suave charisma made them an excellent and irresistible screen couple.

Cantonese opera is a genre unique to Hong Kong cinema, and no couple represents that genre better than Yam Kim-fai and Pak Suet-sin. The two have made immense contribution to the art form through their performances on-screen and their efforts to nurture young talent off-screen. To this day, Yam and Pak are still one of the most iconic screen pairings in Hong Kong's cinematic history.

Dubbed ‘the last great traditional wu actor' by Cantonese opera legend Pak Yuk-tong and known as the ‘Red Peony,' respectively, Mak Bing-wing and Fung Wong Nui were one of the most popular acts in Cantonese opera. Their duets were the hit songs of their time and elevated them to Cantonese opera royalty.

Dubbed ‘the little wild cat,' the sexy Chung Ching made a peculiar, but beloved screen pairing with the straight arrow that was Chin Feng. The biggest stars of Hsin Hwa Motion Picture Company, all their Mandarin-language musicals were hugely popular.

Another one of the seven princesses of Hong Kong cinema, Connie Chan Po-chu—a beloved protégé of Yam Kim-fai and Pak Suet-sin—was once dubbed ‘the movie fan princess.' Meanwhile, Lui Kay was one of the biggest male stars in the 1960s. Their collaborations were so popular among film fans that they turned Cantonese youth musicals into a trend.