A Brand New Life

A Brand New Life is a 1973 American made-for-television drama film directed by Sam O'Steen. It stars Cloris Leachman and Martin Balsam. Leachman won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for her performance. Plot A middle-aged couple faces the impending birth of their first child. Cast Cloris Leachman as Victoria Douglas Martin Balsam as Jim Douglas Marge Redmond as Eleanor Gene Nelson as Harry Mildred Dunnock as Mother Wilfred Hyde-White as Mr. Berger Barbara Colby as Jessica Hiller Release The movie debuted on ABC on February 20, 1973 as the "ABC Tuesday Movie of the Week". It was the ninth-most viewed primetime offering of the week in the United States, with a 23.6 rating. It received positive reviews, with Howard Thompson of The New York Times stating, "most made-for-TV movies emerge like assembly-line lard, but "A Brand New Life" is a joy," and calling it "literate, moving, amusing and genuinely sophisticated in its quiet, observant wisdom."