The Sound of Music (film) of the film; the actor accepted after being assured that he could work with Lehman to improve the character; Plummer later described himself as having become quite arrogant at the time, "spoiled by too many great theater roles". Wise also spent considerable time and effort on casting the secondary characters. For the role of Max Detweiler, Wise initially considered Victor Borge, Noël Coward, and Hal Holbrook among others before deciding on Richard Haydn. For the character of Baroness Elsa Schraeder, Wise looked for a "name" actress—Andrews and Plummer were not yet widely known to film audiences—and decided on Eleanor Parker.
Eleanor Parker with wanting to be famous or anything like that. It's just that I love acting." In the early 1960s, she worked increasingly in television, with the occasional film role such as "Panic Button" (1964). Parker's best-known screen role was playing Baroness Elsa Schraeder in the 1965 Oscar-winning musical "The Sound of Music". The Baroness was famously and poignantly unsuccessful in keeping the affections of Captain Georg von Trapp (played by Christopher Plummer) after he falls in love with Maria (played by Julie Andrews). In 1966, she played an alcoholic widow in the crime drama "Warning Shot", a talent scout who