According to an old Arabian proverb, brought out of the Old World as a theme for "The Secret Heart," "there are three things you cannot hide--love, smoke, and a man riding on a camel." According to a waggish U.T. aisle-sitter, there is a fourth--the relation of this proverb to the rest of the picture. At any rate, MGM has beaten together another Freudian free-for-all combining misunderstood childhood and the Navy's views on darning socks in so mangled a melee that even the participating psychiatrist doesn't know all the answers.

Getting off to a smoldering start in New York City, the action manages to meander through both time and space in haphazard fashion that loses much of the plot in the resulting confusion of dash-backs and scene changes. June Allyson, daughter of a piano virtuoso gone wrong, seems inspired to follow the fingers of her unlucky father to her doom. But before she strikes too many wrong notes, the rest of the cast comes bustling to her rescue, uncovers her hidden love and chalks up another point for the old Arabian saying.

Though never shown riding a camel, Walter Pidgeon seems uncomfortable enough describing a provocative negligee to a Smart Shop salesgirl, or dancing the Big Apple in a patched-up farmhouse. The misunderstood Miss Allyson and her confused stop-mother, Claudette Colbert, also try hard, but the highlight of the picture is a novel toy that spells out "I love you" whenever somebody spins it. This intriguing device again proves that MGM can always dig up something entertaining--even though it's not always a movie.