I can appreciate everyone's desire to believe they have an "uncut" version of "The Quiet Man", but such is not the case. I would love to see the original 35mm film version again. However, while I agree that there is no government conspiracy involved, there is no doubt in my mind that the spanking scene WAS cut from all versions of this movie, at least those released after, say, approximately 1970.
The music flow alone makes it obvious that a fairly non-professional cut was performed, just after the lady hands JW the stick. Besides, I remember the scene from when I was a kid watching the film back in the 1960's... after accepting the stick, JW sits on a circular "Irish-typical" stone wall, similar to a well, drags Mary Kate over his knee, and gives her a few swats, while the following throng cheers him on. That's what the lady offered JW the stick for.
I know little about 35mm film collecting, and even less about projecting a 35mm film a collector may still have. I don't even know if any original theater films still exist. However, I would pay money to watch an original version, and would pay more money to obtain a truly uncut version of this movie.
It would be interesting to query Maureen O'Hara about this.. there must be a website about her, and I think I'll spend a few minutes browsing.
