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I've been looking for this movie for years. When I was a kid I saw a 1950s/60s sci fi about astronauts that land on Mars (I think it was Mars) but the Martians transform the landing site to look like the astronauts' childhood hometowns on earth and the Martians change their appearance to resemble the astronauts' friends and family. Gradually the astronauts realize Aunt Mabel really isn't aunt Mabel and the Martians divulge their dastardly intentions. Very creepy movie. This is all I can recall after 30 years.

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    Did you mean "Aunt Mabel"? Or depending on the original form of these Martians, maybe not.
    – DJClayworth
    Commented Aug 2, 2012 at 15:35
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    The only video adaption of Bradbury's Martian Chronicles that I've seen was a made-for-TV mini-series in the '70s.
    – Don Simon
    Commented Aug 2, 2012 at 15:42
  • I took a look at the mini series and although it's the same story, I'd swear it's too new to be what I watched in the 70s. I recall that in the version I saw the astronauts landed in a classic 1920's style rocket ship and the film quality was old and grainy. Maybe I'm losing my mind.
    – JimSTAT
    Commented Aug 2, 2012 at 16:03
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    About that movie. I saw the same movie. The astronaut does get deceived and when he is eating his favourite chocolate cake, he realises what is happening and then he starts choking.
    – Ian Samuels
    Commented Dec 2, 2016 at 13:18
  • Ian Samuels - where did you see the movie? Is it on netflix/amazon etc. by any chance? I'm still looking.thanks
    – JimSTAT
    Commented Dec 2, 2016 at 15:25

2 Answers 2

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This very definitely sounds like an adaptation of the Ray Bradbury story The Third Expedition (also published as Mars Is Heaven) from The Martian Chronicles. However I was unable to find a matching movie in IMDB.

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  • That's It! Awesome. I can't find any 1950's/60's tv or movies either, just the mini series.
    – JimSTAT
    Commented Aug 2, 2012 at 16:03
  • One possibility is The Rocket (1952) imdb.com/title/tt0249116 - though no information about the movie is available from the usual sources.
    – Donald.McLean
    Commented Aug 2, 2012 at 16:15
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    You might be mixing memories of the Bradbury story with the Twilight Zone episode "Elegy": en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elegy_(The_Twilight_Zone)
    – cjc
    Commented Aug 2, 2012 at 16:37
  • There is definately a story exactly this in the book Martian Chronicles.
    – zipquincy
    Commented Aug 2, 2012 at 19:32
  • Didn't they make a Martian Chronicles mini-series for TV? Maybe it was in there.
    – Mark Bessey
    Commented Aug 3, 2012 at 9:06
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It is The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury featuring Rock Hudson. I saw this as a kid on TV in the 1970s and thought it was spooky. I managed to track down a DVD on eBay and say all there chapters. Some parts I fast forwarded as I got bored. Very retro look. The best part is indeed where they land on Mars and the Martians tap into the astronauts minds to make them believe they are back home with loved ones.

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    IMDB: The Martian Chronicles. It's a TV mini-series that came out in 1980. From the summary: "Members of a subsequent expedition are hypnotized into believing that they have landed in the childhood community of their leader and have been reunited with deceased family and friends, and they are poisoned by the Martians."
    – DCShannon
    Commented Dec 2, 2016 at 22:32

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