The family was surrounded by a colorful procession of friends and relatives, for example, Mama""s bullying, overbearing and boisterous older brother Uncle Chris Halverson (Oskar Homolka) - a ranch owner in Ukiah who was partnered with his long-time quiet common-law wife Jessie Brown (Barbara O""Neil), and Marta""s three sisters (all Aunts):Aunt Jenny (Hope Landin), bossyAunt Sigrid (Edith Evanson), whinyTrina (Ellen Corby), a wallflower, timid spinster/fiancee, who had plans o marry undertaker Thorkelson (Edgar Bergen, without a dummy)There was also impoverished boarder Mr."Diana""s older boyfriend, Cunningham County Sheriff Ed Landis (Billy Green Bush) defended her honor after the Duke insulted him ("She is only your lady because she ain""t had a taste of the Duke yet"), and ordered the jailing of the tabloid TV serial killer bounty hunter.He was even opposed by some who considered his daring and unconventional, rhythm & blues-oriented (rockabilly) music too sexually-arousing and similar to southern black music.Many critics/reviewers and fans have considered the film the best of the series.One of the reasons for its success was that the story and screenplay were co-written by Wes Craven.Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption (1994)andThe Green Mile (1999)) also worked on the screenplay.