This adventure of Inspector Napoleon (Bony) Bonaparte is set in North Western Australia; it deals with a corpse in a meteor crater and with vital information hidden behind the impassive mask of an aboriginal tribe, where only the half-black Bony has any hope of reaching it. The interplay between whites and blacks, from assimilated to wholly wild, is subtly and sensitively handled, and Bony emerges as one of the rare detective figures with genuine stature as a man. As in most Upfield novels, the geography, the geology and the cultural anthropology of Australia are living elements in the story (Cover, Collier 1984 ed.).
Boney and the Burial Tree
( dir. John McCallum
)
Australia
:
Fauna Productions
,
1973
Z1459022
1973
single work
film/TV
When a white man is shot and 'buried' Aboriginal-style in a tree, Inspector Bonaparte and Constable McGorr are sent to investigate. However, nobody on the outback property where the body was found will admit having seen the dead man, although he was watching the homestead from his nearby camp. Boney also has to deal with a fanatical Army officer out to avenge the death of his mate. When the officer captures McGorr, Boney's skills and ingenuity are tested to the full.
