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.
Elsa Buchanan husband, a merchant sailor named Noll Charlton, while attending a coronation ball for King George VI and retired from film thereafter. Shortly before her death saw "Gosford Park", in which one of the characters, a Hollywood producer, discusses casting for "Charlie Chan in London", inviting a blonde maid to audition for the part that she actually played in that film. Elsa Buchanan Elsa Buchanan (22 December 1908 – 17 January 2004) was an English character actress with a brief career in theatre and film. Born Elsie Winifred Buchanan Tinker, Buchanan made her stage debut at age three at the Palace